


For our Futures

by dragonfly_reborn



Series: Streams of Time [1]
Category: Dragon Ball
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-04
Updated: 2016-12-29
Packaged: 2018-04-12 22:32:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 16
Words: 48,147
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4497243
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dragonfly_reborn/pseuds/dragonfly_reborn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Your home and family are destroyed when you're still an infant. When all hope seems lost, a boy named Gohan finds and rescues you. As time goes by, two evil beings appear for the purpose of destruction. After the Z-Fighters fall to their deaths, Gohan (the last remaining Z-Fighter) takes you and a boy named Trunks under his wing and trains you both with hopes of stopping the heartless Androids 17 and 18. </p>
<p>With the fate of the world resting on your shoulders, you eventually learn how important a bond is. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>  <i></i><br/><b></b><br/></p>
<p></p><div class="center">
  <p>Mirai Trunks x Reader</p>
</div>
            </blockquote>





	1. Town of Ashes

**Opening Song:** _On My Own (Ashes Remain)_

_****_

Chapter 1  
Town of Ashes  
\- - - - - - - - -

The sun started to set, alerting the boy with black hair in purple that, as the light from the giant solar sphere above began to vanish, so would another light. The boy, who appeared to be around eight or nine, knew there wasn't much time. This was the time to be beside his father during his final hours. Unfortunately, this was the most he could do. He still had his mother to look after, once the man she loved was gone forever.

“I can't believe this is happening…” the boy murmured somberly, sitting up from the grass he was laying on. “I guess all there is left to do now is say farewell...and be there for Mom. I know he's counting on me to do that much.”

After hoisting himself up, he began dashing towards the direction of his house...or would have, had it not been for the sound of screams coming from the far right of the boy's direction. This caused the boy to skid to a halt from what he hadn’t sensed just moments before. 

This was not the time for detours, but he was full of compassion, brought to answer calls of distress. The boy was troubled by this new dilemma: be by his father's side during his final hour, or save a stranger who, thanks to his aid, might live to see another day.

“I-I...” the boy sputtered. 

Swallowing hard, the boy reacted to his nature and followed the sound of screams. Black smoke appeared to be rising from the hill, and he dashed faster than he had ever recalled. 

“Please, let me get there in time!” 

He didn't like seeing anyone or anything destroyed—especially when there was no warning of damage inflicted. 

As soon as he arrived at the small town at the top of the hills, he could see his wish had not been granted.

“Oh my gosh!!!” he gasped, eyes widened and mouth hung open in disbelief to what he saw. 

Piles of ashes from destroyed homes and charred corpses blew passed his feet. Trees tattered from left to right; roofs of houses began to cave in. Though the boy knew the odds were stacked against the situation, he could not give up. Not yet. 

“Can anyone hear me?!” he shouted over the crackling flame at the top of his lungs, hoping there would be a survivor or two that would respond. “Hello?!” 

As the smoke and smell became too much for him, he pulled up the scarf-like article hanging from his neck to cover up his nose. Next, he shielded his eyes from the heat waves, keeping one eye open and rushed towards the nearest house—surprisingly still standing.

“Is anyone in there?!” he called out again.

Again, there was no answer. 

“They never had a chance…” he thought aloud, eyes shut tightly and fists balled up. “This _isn’t_ fair!!”

Just then, a shadowed figure appeared behind him. The boy quickly opened his eyes and whirled around. There, in front of him, stood a woman. She was covered in burnt marks and fresh cuts of different sizes. She gasped for air, in desperate need for water as well as medical attention. Despite her condition, she was hugging a small bundle of dirty white rags to her chest.

The boy quickly got over her appearing out of nowhere. 

“Ma'am! We’ve got to get you out of here, quick!” 

As gently as he could, the boy reached for her wrist to lead her to safety. But before he could, the woman collapsed to her knees and would’ve met the ground if the boy hadn’t caught her. 

Her eyes were closed, but she slowly opened them to see the boy’s face. Her breathing became shallow with every effort to draw more air in.

"Ma'am, stay with me here,” the boy pleaded, frantically rummaging his pocket for something to help. “I got something that will save you! **(1)** Please, just—” 

Before he was able to finish, the woman held up her hand as if to say, “There’s no need”. 

Next, she carefully flipped over a small portion of the cloth to reveal a baby, its small eyes still closed from the danger occurring all around them. 

“Please...” the woman managed to say before a cough interrupted. “Save...my baby.” 

The boy realized the woman was the mother; a mother who had very little time left and as a final request wanted to know her child would have a future. The boy tightly shut his eyes and nodded. 

Upon seeing this, the woman smiled contently, regardless of her condition. She lightly kissed her baby on the forehead before her eyes dulled, then whispered a faint, “Thank you,” to the boy of whom she wished had the time to learn his name. 

After the boy took the infant out of the town set on fire, knew he would have to run non-stop if he were to make it in time. 

“I know I did the right thing,” the boy thought aloud. “But I can't get my hopes up too high. If I'm going to make it, I can't delay any longer!” He looked at your little sleeping face and would have smiled, but had other things occupying his mind. “Don't be scared. I'm about to go really fast, but I promise not to drop you,” he said as a warning in advance to you. 

With that said, he quickly took off, with you still asleep in your torn, but otherwise secure, bundle.

= = = = = =

A group of people, whom were close to the boy’s father, were gathered outside of their friend’s house, intense looks on all of their faces. While inside, the man's wife and father-in-law sat by his bedside. The man, however, was currently in bed with a new kind of heart virus, causing his hour to grow short.

The baby boy outside was making such a fuss, most likely hungry or simply cranky. A short talking pig and strange blue cat, which was floating, were the first to notice a small figure scurrying towards them all. 

“Hey! Gohan!” greeted the pig, relieved to see that the boy did manage to come back. 

Gohan would've waved to the pig and his other friends but of this wasn't the time to return greetings. Not to mention he was still holding you.

Gohan swung the front door open, in hopes his father would still be alive. “Father?” he called while still catching his breath. 

Just then, his mother and grandfather immediately turned their heads towards the door to see their son and grandson standing at the entrance. 

Not knowing how to control her emotions, for what had to be said, the mother buried her eyes into her hands and began breaking into tears. “Gohan,” she sniffed. “I... I... Oh Gohan, I'm so sorry, son.” 

Her husband was no longer breathing. The woman's father came to her side to comfort her, which she didn't reject.

Gohan didn't want to see his mother in tears like this, especially since he knew if he hadn’t run towards the smoke, he could have been there to say goodbye. But this was one of those situations where one would win and lose. Gohan lowered his head, as tears began to fall from his eyes. 

There was an outburst among those outside. 

“He's gone, you guys...!” said a short, bald fighter in an orange gi, whom everyone knew as Krillin. “Goku's gone!” 

There were gasps of disbelief and devastation from the rest of Goku's friends, whom he had known for years; among them was a man in armor not of their world. When unable to sense his long-term rival's ki, he jerked his head up from staring at the pond, completely shocked. “Ka…karot...” that was all he seemed to be able to say at the moment. “No…” 

Krillin tightly closed his eyes, fighting back the tears from coming. After regaining control over it, somewhat, he looked inside to see how Goku's family was taking it. 

“No, Krillin,” said the tall figure in purple, with green and pink skin, and a white cape with heavy weights adorning the shoulders. “Just let them be.”

Krillin turned to the voice owner, but didn't argue. Instead, he stepped back and stared up at the sun-setting sky, seeing a mental image of his best friend since childhood fade away.

= = = = = =

After the others left, Gohan decided this would be the best time to show you to his mother. He was in his room, sitting Indian-style on his bed. While you, still in your bundle, lied on a bed composed of folded clothes and spare sheets in a laundry basket. Gohan rose up from where he was sitting and walked over to you, watching as you slowly drifted into consciousness. Your small eyes glanced around the unfamiliar room until they met with a pair of friendly onyx eyes, then a face.

Gohan watched and smiled when you let out a light yawn and sneeze. Gohan then reached down and carefully picked you up. “I better show Mom now.” 

As the young boy walked down the hallway, following the sounds of weeping, he came across the closed door to his mother's bedroom. The woman's father, Ox King, was also in the room, trying to console his only daughter. 

“There, there, now. Chichi,” Ox King said. 

Both heard a knock from the other side of the door. Chichi wiped her eyes and slowly rose from her chair to open the door, after assuring her father she could.

“Gohan? Is there something you need?” she asked. 

The boy noticed his mother was trying her best not to cry anymore—not in front of her son, at least, but didn't say anything to that. 

“Um, Mom? The reason I...was late, is because…” he paused, wondering how to finish. Instead of using words, he held out the bundle in front of him for Chichi to see.

Chichi was a little upset and puzzled about this, thinking this was unimportant, but kept it to herself and scooped up the bundle from her son's arms and into her own. She lifted a loose piece of the dirty rags and in it was a baby who looked to be under a year old. Chichi's eyes widened. Once she found her voice, she turned her eyes to her son once more. 

“Gohan, where did you find—” 

“Up in the mountains, on the way back,” Gohan slowly replied. 

Realizing his answer was rather vague, he shuttered and took a deep breath to continue. 

"I was in the mountains, until I realized how late it was getting, so I started to head home. But then I could hear cries for help; and the fire...it was just awful," Gohan paused. The recent morbid scene started to replay in his mind. 

Chichi began to look concerned, as she could only imagine what it had truly been like for Gohan, and for you.

Yet, he continued. 

“I couldn't decide if I should see what were causing those screams, or come home...” he sighed, his shoulders hung limply on either side.

“And you rushed to the screams,” Ox King finished for him, after coming in from behind Chichi. 

Gohan nodded then hung his head, his unruly bangs hiding his eyes.

Chichi was able to understand the rest of this. She knelt down with you still in her arms then used her left hand to gently reach for Gohan's now pale cheek, causing him to look at her once more. “It's alright, Gohan, you did the right thing. I'm sure your father would’ve understood,” she said with a smile, while gently embracing him, and once he calmed, Gohan returned it.

“Have you come up with a name for the baby yet, Gohan?” Ox King asked, crouching on one knee to get a better look at you. **(2)**

Before Gohan was able to answer, Chichi looked up at her dad. “Dad, will you go into the kitchen and get some pots out? Gohan, run some warm water.”

= = = = = =

Chichi sat in a chair, finished cleaning you up and feeding you through a bottle. Gohan sat in a chair on the opposite end, his chin resting on his overlapped arms, trying to think of a name, which was harder than he had realized. He didn't even know if you were a girl, or a boy.

Then Chichi suggested, while looking at your little face, “How about, ‘___’?” 

You looked up at her upon hearing your new name, making baby giggles before reaching up for her black hair hanging in front of her ears. Chichi tucked them behind her ears before you managed to grab one of them. 

Gohan walked over to where his mother sat. “I guess ___ will do.” 

Gohan held out his hand, allowing your tiny hands to grab onto his fingers. He smiled then noticed something, and wasn't sure of what it meant: your arms outstretched forward, showing you really wanted to go to him while making small, baby noises hinting it. Chichi lifted you off her lap and gently placed you into Gohan's arms once he realized and held them out. Chichi then asked Gohan to prepare something for you to sleep on for the night. He told her he’d already made something then found himself busy by trying to prevent you from tugging on his hair. 

After her son left the room, and her father elsewhere, Chichi walked over to the nearest window and looked up at the night sky. “Goku... I'll miss you,” she whispered, visualizing her husband being up there looking down on them.

She let one last tear roll down her cheek and headed off to bed.

**Closing:** _No Giving Up (Crossfade)_

\- - - - - - - - - - -  
**_End of Ch. 1_**  


**(1)** Senzu beans

 **(2)** I’d think this would be a scary experience for a baby.


	2. A Disturbing Broadcast

  
**_Chapter 2  
A Disturbing Broadcast_**  
\- - - - - - - - - - -

Six months had passed since Gohan had saved you from your fate and since the passing of Goku. Chichi, though still recovering from her loss, would cheer up whenever her father, Krillin or Bulma came by often to check on her well-being.

One morning, while hanging out clothes to dry, Chichi heard what sounded like a hover car nearby. She turned and faced the direction to see that it was indeed a hover car. 

“Oh my, it's Bulma.” 

The hover car screeched to a halt and the blue-haired woman climbed out before scooping up her son, about your age though slightly older. 

“Chichi! You need to turn on the TV. Now!” Bulma exclaimed, walking briskly over to Chichi. 

“Bulma, what's going on here?” Chichi asked concerned, lowering the sheet she was about to hang when sensing the urgency in her friend’s eyes and voice.

“No time to explain—come on!” Bulma cut the raven-haired woman off from any other questions she may have and, with her free hand that wasn't holding her son, grabbed onto Chichi's wrist and lightly dragged her. 

They rushed inside, led by Bulma, into the living room and turned on the television. Chichi was anxious as to see what could have her friend this upset. 

The screen showed a man with brown hair and glasses, holding the mike. He seemed pretty agitated about something. 

_“I am here live with coverage, on what seems unlike **anything** I've encountered in all my years as a news reporter!!!”_

It was the news; Chichi knew immediately she wouldn't like where this was going. 

The camera seemed to shake a bit from the cameraman's fear, not to mention the reception wasn't the best. 

Yet, the reporter continued, _"I am told that there are reports of two ominous figures, flying—that’s right, **flying** from one town to the next and destroying them!!!”_

Chichi tensed upon hearing this. Her hands tightly gripped around the sheet she was still holding while leaning in closer to the TV. 

_“We haven't been able to get clear descriptions as of yet, but are continuing to look into it further, and—”_

Just then, the picture was cut off by a blizzard of static.

= = = = = =

“Well, guess this means we're known now, doesn’t it?” one of the figures commented with a smirk while lowering his hand.

“All I want is to be left alone. I can't believe that a human, as stupid as him, would come to disturb us then try to run for his meaningless life,” the other figure replied bitterly, while continuing to brush off the dust resting on her long, white sleeves. 

The other figure turned his head to face her. “True. But wasn't it _your_ idea to come out of that lab and kill a few humans to blow off steam?” 

The other figure shot a glare at the one who spoke. “If this whole thing was my idea, why didn't you let me kill him?” she asked in frustration as she watched the wind blow away what little remained of the reporter, camera and cameraman passed her feet.

Just then, they noticed five shadows on the ground. 

“Well, maybe these fools won’t be such a disappointment," the male figure thought aloud. The pair looked up to where the other forms were.

“This is the end of the line for you both!” Tien yelled.

On the ground the male figure turned so the rest of his body faced the figures in the sky then placed both hands on his hips. His eyes closed as a low chuckle escaped his lips, causing his shoulders to shake a little. “So,” he began with his eyes still shut, “am I to assume you’re going to stop us?”

The others clutched their hands into fists full of anger at the fact that they were being mocked. 

The one named Piccolo removed his white and purple turban, along with his cape. “I'll go first,” he said and dove down to face the two. 

“Hmph. I hope you'll be at least somewhat of a challenge,” taunted the male figure.

“You just wait and see,” Piccolo replied with a smirk, followed by a frown as he positioned himself to fight. 

The others, minus the girl, took their stands on a giant boulder.

The female figure unfolded her arms and impatiently pushed herself away from the boulder to join her partner’s side—well maybe ‘partner’ wasn’t accurate in this case. 

The man turned to her seemingly irritated. “You know, I don't recall asking for help.”

“I don't recall saying I would do such. _I’ll_ be fighting him. After all, I could really ‘blow off some steam’,” she snapped as she passed him to face the green fighter now considered her opponent.

= = = = = =

“That wasn't much of a challenge. So much for getting my hopes up,” the girl said bitterly while slapping her hands together to get the dust off.

“You’re just too hard to please. Next time, don't finish them off right away,” the teenage-boy stated with his hands on his hips and back facing her. 

“I can't stand seeing their pitiful, ugly faces for a long time. You know that!” the teenage-girl said in an irritated tone.

“That's just your problem, 18.”

“Shut up, 17! I don't want to hear it anymore!”

The two known as 17 and 18 flew away into the clouds to find some other town to demolish. Meanwhile, scattered on the ground, lied the bodies of the five fighters, who gave everything they had to stop the two cold-hearted androids from continuing their reign of destruction. Instead, they had fallen to their early graves...one...by one...

\- - - - - - - - -  
 ** _End of Ch. 2_**  



	3. Ten Years Later

_Ages_

You: 10

Trunks: 11

Gohan: 19

_****_

Chapter 3  
Ten Years Later  
\- - - - - - - - - - -

Your head remained under the mass of covers, trying to keep the morning sunlight from pouring onto your face. It was still too early in your book and you were in no hurry to get up whatsoever.

“__, it’s time to get ready for school!” Chichi called out, knocking from the other side of your door. “Hurry up now!” 

Your hands reached out from the covers for your pillow and folded one end of it to cover up both ears. 

“__,” she called out once again. “I know you hear me, so I expect you to get out of bed!”

You groaned and tiredly flipped the covers off your body. You began to swing your feet over to roll off the bed, but slipped off the edge and landed face-flat onto the floor, causing you to wake startled. 

“Oww…my nose,” you groaned after rolling onto your side with both hands over your nose and eyes tightly shut. After recovering from the fall, you sat up and began to rub the sleep from your eyes, once certain your nose was fine. You stretched your arms over your head while glancing over toward the window just over your bed.

You really didn't want to go to school. You never seemed to fit in. It wasn’t that you were a pushover or anything like that, per se, but the other kids shun you—usually the other girls, due to the fact you were always with Trunks. Apparently you were about the only girl he would hang out with. One of the popular girls once told you she had a crush on your best friend and thought of you as her rival. 

Of course, you weren't the type to care about crushes and boyfriends; you were a tomboy. You had better things to do than have a crush on a guy; Trunks was your best friend and nothing more. If he decided to go out with a girl, you wouldn’t be bothered by it. What did bother you, however, would be other girls constantly stalking the two of you whenever walking or hanging out together.

_‘Today won't be any different,’_ you thought. 

“__!” Chichi called out again, snapping you out of reverie. 

“Coming, Mom!” you replied while getting ready and trying to hide the annoyance from hearing your name being called enough times.

It had been a decade since the Son family took you in. However, you weren't told about the day Gohan found you, or that your birth town was incinerated. Chichi did her best to bring you up as if she were your biological mother. As for Gohan, he still, at times, regretted not being there to say goodbye to his father. However, he’d smile every time you asked him if he was ok when catching him reminiscing over it. Of course, he would only tell you not to worry. 

Sure, you knew who Goku was, but only assumed that he was your father.

= = = = = =

“Thanks for breakfast, Mom,” you said while bringing your hands together and bowing your head slightly. You scooted out of your seat and took your dish and chopsticks over to the sink. After washing them, you slowly walked to the door with a slouched posture.

Just before stepping outside from the house, a hand gripped onto the back of your shirt, preventing you to take another step.

“Try to leave the other kids in one piece, okay?” Gohan joked with a wink. 

“Awe, you know I _always_ get along with the others, Big Brother,” you replied sarcastically then rolled your eyes while looking up at him. 

“Come on. Otherwise Mom will ground you,” he said, still holding onto your collar.

“All right, fine,” you sighed in defeat. Gohan released you then playfully ruffled up your hair a little.

You put both hands on your head and tried to mat your hair back into place. You turned back to him and growled. You didn't like it when someone did that to your hair. But knowing you had to get to school, you decided to let it slide. You waved at him as you left. He returned the gesture.

= = = = = = = =

“Trunks! Wait up!” you called out after spotting your best friend on the way.

Thanks to him, you no longer had to drag the stick you found on the road. He turned his head in your direction and to show he heard you waved his arms in the air while waiting for you to catch up.

“I see you overslept again, __,” Trunks said with a small smile on his face. 

“Yeah… Sorry. Wish school didn't have to start so early," you responded in between breaths. Trunks smiled softly and nodded before giving you time to catch your breath. 

“Anyway, I was wondering if you wanted to come over later,” he said once you caught your breath.

“Sure,” you replied and walked along side him as the two of you entered the school grounds...against your wills. 

****

//Four Months Ago//

The principal led you down the hallway toward your classroom. You weren't nervous about your first day of school. Chichi had thought about sending you to school for a while, before that you were just home schooled until she finally came to the conclusion of sending you. Not to mention Trunks would be there too. You would be able to see him more often and feel comfortable about being away from home for a few hours.

As soon as the principal came to the class you'd be in, he opened the door and smiled as he turned to face you then motioned for you to go inside.

You walked up to the teacher at the front desk and placed a piece of paper on it. She looked up to see you would be the new addition to her classroom. 

“Everyone, may I have your attention please?” she kindly requested and looked up from her desk to see the children giving her what she had asked from them. Next she rose from her desk, taking the piece of paper with her and faced the chalkboard. “We have a new student with us,” she announced then began to write your name on the chalkboard. “Stand here and introduce yourself, dear.” She motioned you to stand in front of the black broad and face the class.

“Hi, I'm ___, Son. Nice to meet you all,” you said to the rest of the class then gave a small bow. 

Once assigned a seat, you looked around to see if anyone resembled the descriptions of a certain someone. 

Class was shortly excused for recess soon after. You rose from your seat with a puzzled look on your face. Just then, a hand lightly touched your shoulder. You quickly turned your head, as you were taken a bit by surprise. 

“Is there something wrong, ___?” the teacher asked, after noticing your perplexed expression.

“I was told that a friend of mine was at this school, but didn't see them,” you answered.

“Well, if you tell me her name, I'm sure I can look it up,” she offered with a sincere smile, unaware of her mistake.

“His name is Trunks Briefs,” was the reply.

“Oh, I'm sorry,” the young woman apologized. “I thought it would be a girl.” 

She probably figured that most girls generally hung out with other girls, especially at this age. 

She got up and checked the school records of all the teachers and the students in their classes. She eventually came across the name you mentioned. “Yes. There _is_ a boy with that name, although he seems to be in the sixth grade.”

The teacher seemed a little surprised. Let’s face it: you were only in fifth grade, so the fact that you were associating with an older boy might have seemed questionable.

“Oh. Well, I’ll just catch him outside,” you said, not sure what surprised her, but thanked her anyway and headed out the classroom.

= = = = = =

You looked around the playground from left to right. You couldn't find him anywhere. Well, almost anywhere: you weren't allowed to check the boy's restroom.

Feeling that maybe he just didn't show up for the day, you walked over to the swings and sat down on one then stared at the sand that rested under your shoes. You began to slowly swing yourself back and forth, in small sets, your feet never leaving the ground.

_‘Trunks, I wish you had told me that you wouldn't show up,’_ you thought cynically. 

You began feeling stares coming your way; the kids were already labeling you as a loner and didn't want to go up to you and start a conversation. You didn’t look at them. What they thought wasn't worth a damn to you. 

Just then, you felt someone push you off the swing which caused you to tumble off and land flat on your back. You gritted your teeth and opened your eyes to ask whoever had done it what their problem was, but then noticed a pair of blue eyes looking down on your own. 

“Hey, ___,” Trunks greeted with a grin. “Glad to see you!” 

You would've felt the same, had you not just fallen on your back and been covered in sand. In short, you weren't very happy about your ‘greeting’.

“Ouch! Trunks, did you have to push me _that_ hard?” you groaned while lifting your head a bit to cradle your new lump. Your other hand took his once he offered to help you up.

“Oops. Sorry, ____. I didn't mean to exactly push you off. Are you okay?” he asked with his right hand behind his head while watching you continue to rub the bump on your head. 

"I'm not bleeding, so I'll live," you sighed, checking your hand for any blood before dusting the sand out of your hair and clothes.

Just then the bell rang. He apologized again before heading back to class, after you reassured him that you were okay. Rather than returning to class yourself, you headed towards the girl's room.

= = = = = =

You began to apply cool water on the paper towel to put on your bump. You wanted to get him back for it; even if it were an accident, he still knew he had abnormal strength for someone his age. But you couldn't think of anything and continued to wet the cloth and reapply it on your head.

One of the girls coming in recognized you, as she happened to be in the same classroom with you. Coming to the sink next to you, she wasted no time and got to the point she wanted to make, “I saw you with him; you two seem awfully close.” She glowered in her reflection, though it was meant for you. "But get one thing straight: go near him again, and this won't end up pretty—for you, that is.”

You looked over to her and discovered two other girls coming in to join at her side, both with their arms crossed. 

“Why? He's my friend—I don’t see why that would bother you,” you said, defending your friendship with Trunks. 

“Because,” she snorted while flipping some of her hair off her shoulder, turning to face you while sending a glare. "I was just about to ask if he wanted to walk me home…or would have, if he hadn’t seen _you_ ,” she said, examining your face and appearance in disgust. 

“Look, if you want to go out with him I won’t stop you. But if you’re trying to prevent me from talking to my own friend, that’s not going to happen,” you stated calmly while continuing to stand your ground. 

“Hmph! You seemed all nice and innocent at first, but of course I now see otherwise. Just don't let me catch you with him again!” she hissed then turned on her heel and headed out the door. Her friends followed—but not before sending you dirty looks of their own.

_‘If she can't say that without her friends by her side, then she doesn't scare me,’_ was your only thought while glaring at her retreating back.

****

//End of Flashback//

Class ended for the day and it was time to go. As you and Trunks walked down the road together, you began to notice that someone was spying on you. While looking out of the corner of your right eye, you came to find the girl, whom you learned went by the name Saki, watching your every move.

 _‘Man, not this again…’_ you thought to yourself as she sent the same look that her friends gave you back then.

“Hey, ___, what's wrong?” asked Trunks. 

“Oh, it's nothing. Don't worry,” you responded with a closed-eyed smile, while waving your hand dismissively and continued walking.

“Well, my house is this way,” he thumbed to the right end of the road. “Let’s get going.” 

You couldn't take this stalker issue anymore, but didn’t want to get Trunks involved. You lied by saying you had forgotten something from class and you’d just catch up later.

“Okay. See you later,” he said while heading off. Saki watched from behind the bushes as all of this was happening, with her friends witnessing it as well.

_‘Now then…’_ you thought to yourself, making sure that your friend was out of sight, before turning to face the bush. “I already know you’re there, and as I’ve said before: I’m. **Not**. Going out with him!!!” you gritted every word between your teeth as your brows furrowed.

“That still doesn't change the fact you were talking to him, ___. I told you he’s _mine_ ,” Saki replied icily as she came out of hiding, her friends following after her. 

“Kami, she's _so_ dense!” you sighed under your breath and slumped from trying to fit any sense into her. 

You looked up at them once more. By then, you noticed she had murmured something to her friends as they each came closer to you in order to grab your arms.

“You don't have anyone to help you now, ___. Trunks is the only one who usually talks to you—which I'll never understand. But with him not here, who’s going to come and save you?” she asked while coming closer to you. Then at her command, her two friends grabbed an arm. Due to being distracted by Saki’s rant, you hadn’t seen her two companions closing in until it was already too late. You began trying to squirm out of their grasps, hoping to free yourself before their leader reached you.

You had _had_ it with Saki! Your eyes widened as you felt a new kind of feeling swarm inside of you. It coursed through your veins, filling you with a new kind of strength. You let out a scream of anger and began pulling out from the grips of Saki's friends. Once free, you ran past them, towards their leader. Saki's eyes widened at what she was seeing. Most of the girls at school wouldn't have the courage to stand up to her. But here you were, coming at her without a care at the moment if anyone watched.

While in close enough range, you pulled back your dominant fist then sent it to her face. Her face had just met your fist, causing her to fall to the ground and roll from the impact. You didn't bother watching either of her friends’ reaction. You towered over Saki's side to watch what she would do. She let out a scream, showing the obvious pain she was in. As she held on the swollen red cheek, she looked up at you with tears and anger building up from within.

Before you managed to jump back, she lunged at you. It was you who was now on the ground; she was quite powerful considering the state she was in. You began to receive some hits of your own. You managed to block some, but seeing this caused the two friends to rush in and pin down both your arms and legs.

You didn't really know how to fight; Chichi never approved when asked for Gohan or even herself to train you. You had just snapped from dealing with this girl’s harassment on a daily basis, that the anger bottled up consumed you—that is until you were the one on the ground.

You began another attempt in fighting the trio off while you still had the chance, but it was useless. She pulled her fist past her face just as you had, ready to use it on your face. You involuntarily flinched, since that was all you could do at this point. 

Just then, a hand stopped Saki's fist. She whirled her head over her shoulder to see Gohan, coming to stop the fight. He was on his way to pick you up, like he would whenever he found some time on his hands from training.

“Care to explain what you three were doing to my sister?” he asked in a calm, yet angry tone.

Once your mind registered his voice, you slowly opened your eyes and looked up to see that your brother came to your rescue. It felt pretty embarrassing that he had seen you in such a predicament. Also guilty, knowing you would have to tell your mom what happened—and with Gohan there, you couldn't lie about it.

After lifting the girl off of you and ordering the other two off, Gohan extended his hand to you; after taking it, you brushed the dust off of your clothes.

“___,” Gohan said in a scolding tone. Though hesitant, you looked up at him, suddenly missing the smile that had been there earlier. “Do you remember what you promised me before you left this morning?” You tried searching your memory, but that didn't work; he knew your tricks from the ten years of being around you. "Come on, ___! If answering me is difficult, you still have to tell Mom, and you know she won't be happy about this either."

"Gohan…I don't understand much with what just happened either. I just…snapped," was your only response before you hid your bruised face behind your hair. 

As Gohan looked closer, he noticed that your shoulders began to tremble. You saw the shadow of a large form crouch down in front of you and a hand reach out to touch the top of your head. But you flinched, and quickly stepped back. 

“___,” Gohan sighed. “I’m not going to harm you. Okay?" 

Once your now glassy eyes met his coal-black, he opened his mouth to speak, but immediately picked you up and ran behind a nearby tree. You looked up at him, confused, about to ask for an explanation. But before you were able to do such, his hand covered your mouth. Seemed he was trying to listen for something. Of course, there was nothing around to cause any noise. He suddenly turned his attention back to you; he had something important to tell you and would only say it once.

“___, listen to me. Once I take off, run to Trunks' house as fast as you can; stay there until I come for you. Don't look back, no matter what. Understand?"

You wanted to ask him what was going on, but slowly nodded instead. Once he gently put you down, his hand touched your shoulder briefly then he started walking out into the clearing. He became enveloped in his ki and within seconds, gravity no longer bounded him to the earth. You knew he was able to fly; he would have to, whenever coming to your rescue from dinosaurs and had to lead them away. You envied him for being able to fly around places. 

Snapping out of your thoughts, you came out of hiding and, without even looking at the direction your brother took off in, began to sprint towards Trunks' house, with a question that lingered in your mind.

_‘Gohan, what's happened to make you take off like this?’_

There was nothing else you could do, but hope for his safe return.

\- - - - - - - - - - - -  
 _ **End of Ch. 3**_  



	4. Changing

_****_

Chapter 4  
Changing  
\- - - - - - -

“This can't be good! Whatever it is!” Gohan said. He would do whatever he could to stop this disturbance. Even knowing there was always the possibility of being outnumbered.

Suddenly, there was a yellow explosion in a huge chunk of the town and the demi teen halted abruptly to what he saw below him. With anger in his otherwise gentle expression, Gohan flew downward towards the city. Upon touching down he immediately began searching for the cause. Nothing but an eerie demolish scenery greeted him. 

His eyes began to feel the hurt and rage once he came across a tattered baseball cap before the wind carried it off. It seemed a child—very young—owned it.

“If only I had arrived sooner, these people might’ve had a chance!” Gohan cursed, his hands at his sides balling up into fists. His eyes then flashed a different color for a split second.

Just then a low, sinister laugh came from behind thus breaking his rage.

“That's all right. You may suffer long and painfully, if you'd like,” 17 said, who apparently was sitting on a tall piece of rubble behind Gohan. The demi’s eye color returned to normal and he quickly spun around to face his new encounter.

“Were you the one who did this?!” Gohan demanded, the rage never leaving his eyes or voice.

“This time, it was,” 17 casually responded then lazily lifted his right hand and aimed his right index finger straight at Gohan. “Sometimes, it’s her.”

17 smirked then shot a beam out from his finger, which grazed Gohan’s left cheek and left a thin cut. A line of blood trickled down the demi’s cheek. As soon as Gohan noticed the cut, the blast hit the rubble behind him causing 18 to leap high into the air and flip before landing on her feet. 

“Is this someone who got away?” 18 asked while stepping out from the smoke. 

“No. Just another fool who thinks he can stop us,” 17 replied darkly then jumped from the rubble and slowly began walking towards Gohan, with 18 across from the former, who also began to creep closer, ready to tear the half Saiyan limb from limb.

“I'm not going to let you two beat me! It ends here for you!!!” Gohan yelled while beginning to power up. He spread his feet apart and took on his fighter’s stance.

“You do realize, Boy," 17 said, continually drawing closer, "that you aren't the first person to tell us that. Right, 18?” 

“This is going to be interesting either way,” 18 replied, a smirk playing across her lips. 

Then the two vanished.

Gohan began to frantically search for the two. “Where did they go? They must be androids; that’s why I can’t sense their ki at all!”

****

/With You/

You had just reached the front door of Capsule Corp. After bringing your hand up to knock on the door, you heard footsteps coming from inside. As the sound became louder, you stepped back a little. The door opened.

“Oh my gosh! What on earth happened to your face?!” asked Bulma, shocked once she saw the new bruises.

“I uh—” you began, embarrassed. _‘That’s right. I’ve been running for a while now, I forgot about the bruises.’_

All further thoughts were postponed, as Bulma took you by the wrist and led you to the bathroom. She reached for an ice pack for your face. Once finding what she needed, she walked over to you currently sitting on the toilet lid.

“I need you to look up at me for a second. I'm going to put this over your face; it will feel sore, but I need you to keep your head up.” 

You nodded and complied. She gently placed the ice pack over a part of your face then began to lightly apply pressure on your bruises. You winced as the throbs began coming in great doses. Regardless, you endured it. The bruises weren't serious, but how many kids actually enjoy having ice or stinging antibiotics applied on their injury?

“So,” Bulma began while moving the ice pack from one spot on your face to another. “What exactly happened? It looks like you got into a fight.” 

She seemed a bit more concerned after that observation.

Your eyes began trailing around the room, thinking of what to say. But you were shortly interrupted from your thoughts once she removed the ice pack; a sign she was done while looking at you for an answer. 

“Well...” you began with a hand behind your head. “I sort of got into a fight with another girl from school.” 

You paused, tearing your eyes away from hers and staring at the unique designs in the floor tiles. But the question stuck: What would you say?

Perhaps you could be blunt with something like: “I punched this girl from school because she claims I'm trying to steal her ‘boyfriend’, Trunks. She’s so possessive that she and her friends stalk me as I hang out with him, makes constant threats, and no matter how many times I’ve repeatedly told her there's nothing going on between us, she’s too self-centered to hear what anyone else has to say!”

On second thought…scratch that idea. 

“Well, I won’t force you to tell me. However, I think you should tell your mom when you go home,” Bulma finally said then glanced at her watch. “It’s now six o’ clock; I can give you a ride.” 

You shook your head. “Gohan was the one who told me to come here,” you finally told her. “You see, he caught me getting into a fight with a few other girls.” You didn't tell her Saki was about to pound you while in a position of losing. “He broke it up and, for reasons he didn't explain, told me to wait here until he returned. Something seemed to be bothering him, but he didn't say what.” You lowered your head again, curious and concerned regarding your brother’s current whereabouts.

“I see,” Bulma replied, concerned as well. She smiled sincerely and knelt down in front of you, causing you to look up at her once more. “I'm sure whatever it is, he'll be all right. In the meantime, you’re welcome to stay for dinner if you'd like.”

“Thanks,” you said with a smile, accepting your welcome. “Is Trunks here?”

“He should be in his room, you may go and see if he’s still there,” Bulma replied, after putting the ice pack away.

= = = = = =

Trunks was in his room watching TV when suddenly he heard a knock on the other side of his door.

“Coming!” You heard him call from the other side. The knob began to turn until it opened. First you saw an eye, then his face, then him. “___—what happened to you?" he asked, his eyes widened. 

It may have only been two people, but you were already getting tired of this reaction.

“If I said I fell…would you believe me?” you asked hypothetically once he stepped aside to let you to come in. He then closed the door.

“It looks like more than just a fall,” he observed once he sat on the edge of his bed. You sighed and looked around until you spotted a chair across from him. After pulling it up and sitting down, you turned to face him. 

“They’re three girls from my class, so I doubt you would know their names if I told you,” you answered. “Your mom used an ice pack so it feels a little better now,” you told the demi who smiled softly after hearing that. 

“That’s good. Anyway, I remember you once said you wanted to train so I'll show you something.” With that, he got up and walked out of his room. 

You blinked, but shrugged and decided to follow him.

= = = = = =

“What is it you wanted to show me?” you asked while Trunks turned the lights to the lab on.

“It's down here, follow me,” he replied as the both of you walked down the stairs. 

You noticed that even with the lights on, there was still one part of the lab that was dark which happened to be where you two were heading. 

“My mom doesn't really come to this part of the lab anymore,” Trunks explained. “So don't tell her, or anyone, what you’re about to see, okay?” He stopped and turned to you.

You smiled and nodded. “I promise.” 

After stepping over various machinery and loose floor tiles littering the floor, you both came across a giant machine that seemed pretty old but an amazing piece to stand in front of nevertheless. Your mouth hung open in awe.

“This was what my father would train in,” Trunks explained, standing next to you. You slowly managed to tear your eyes away from the machine and turned your attention to the demi as he continued, “According to my mom, he wanted to become the strongest warrior and surpass your dad. He had my mom build this gravity room for him.” 

He stopped then averted his eyes from the machine to the floor, looking a little…sad.

You remained silent, remembering hearing about what happened to his dad. Even though he was killed when Trunks was too young to remember him, you figured it was still hard for him to share this but knew he trusted you. 

“So, what exactly do you do with it?” you asked, changing the subject while stepping up to it and lightly rubbed the dusty surface with your dominant hand. 

He opened his mouth to speak, but suddenly you both heard footsteps upstairs along with Bulma's voice. It was a little hard to hear from the basement, but you guessed she was looking for you two.

“We better get back up stairs,” Trunks suggested then started running towards the lab entrance with you following shortly behind him.

“___, Trunks, dinner's ready!” Bulma called from the bottom of the stairs, thinking the two of you were still up there.

Just then, Bulma heard a heavy _**thud**_ at the door which caused her to gasp. Though hesitantly, she went to answer the door. You and Trunks heard it too and followed her to the entrance. After Bulma spotted the both of you by her side, she motioned for you two to get behind her before opening the door. 

It was Gohan; he was slumped on his knees, grunting in pain from the cuts and bruises all over his body. One hand rested on his lap while the other clutched onto his ribcage. He was breathing pretty hard while gritting his teeth. There was something else different about him. Your eyes widened in shock to something you'd never seen before: his black hair was now a golden yellow and a matching color aura instead of usual white surrounded him. 

“Gohan!!!” you cried worryingly and rushed over to your elder brother's side. 

As you knelt down in front of him, Gohan looked up at you. You gasped; it was then you saw a pair of green eyes instead of black looking back at you. He tried to speak, but seemed far too weak to do so. Both his gold hair and green eyes returned to their original color: a sign of losing consciousness. He collapsed in your arms. You tried your best to hold him up, but he was too heavy. Not long after, his weight began to drag you down onto the doorstep.

Tears and panic started brimming from your eyes, as you didn't know what to do. You could still feel him breathing, it was shallow...but at least you knew he was not dead. Bulma and Trunks rushed over to lift Gohan up. Trunks, before assisting his mom, used one hand to pull you up.

Bulma noticed your glassed eyes after she and Trunks laid Gohan on a nearby couch. The blue-haired woman turned to her son. “Do me a favor, Trunks, and get the first aid kit, hurry!” Bulma demanded. Her son nodded then hurried off to retrieve the essential item.

Bulma walked over to you and placed her hand gently on your shoulder. You began to fiercely wipe away the tears that started coming through, but were suppressed. She waited a few seconds, since you were a little hysterical, before speaking. 

“___, I need you to look at me now...” Bulma said softly, once your breathing pattern returned to normal.

“G-Gohan.... What’s ha-happening to him?!” was all you were able to choke out while continuing to stare at the floor through your blurred vision. 

Gohan was still unconscious at the time. Once Bulma double-checked that, she returned her gaze to you. She knew what was going on with him but if Chichi hadn't told you about Gohan and the late Goku having the ability to become Super Saiyans, then it wasn't her place to discuss this with you.

Bulma then cleared her throat. “I think it would be best if you and Gohan stayed here tonight. There's an extra room you may use.” You looked up at her with a question about to come from your mouth, but she cut you off. “I'll call your mom to let her know you’re both here. It's pretty late to drive you home, and with Gohan in this condition...” Bulma paused then looked over at his unconscious form; your gaze followed as well. “I know it's hard, but try not to worry. You should eat now, dinner's ready.” 

With that, she smiled sincerely. You sniffed and nodded to non-verbally show you would comply.

= = = = = =

Trunks and Bulma began seeing to and bandaging Gohan's injuries. You had offered to help, but Bulma told you to leave that to them. You felt hurt, not being allowed to help your brother. When you weren't looking, Trunks looked toward you with concern showing through his blue eyes. He couldn't blame you for being upset but it felt like it was something else...but he shrugged it off, telling himself he wasn’t able to fully comprehend due to being an only child.

You didn't eat much of the dinner Bulma fixed. It wasn't that it tasted bad, but so much had happened in a day. Thus, your appetite was lost. 

After bandaging Gohan up to the point he was no longer in mortal danger, Bulma came into the kitchen and noticed your appetite loss, but smiled in understanding. 

“I think it would be best if you just went to sleep now, ___. You'll become sick if you overstress yourself like this.” She lifted the plate of food off the table and put it in the fridge in case you became hungry later. 

While slowly exiting the kitchen, you glanced over into the room where your unconscious brother lied, but continued toward one of the guest rooms once Bulma reassured you Gohan would be fine. You felt drained as you headed up to the guest room; there may have been too many rooms and floors but that wasn’t the reason why. 

Gohan was the one you looked up to for all these years, if he died – No! You refused to believe something like that. Just because he had returned injured didn't mean he was going to die! He was strong; he'd survive!

...Right?

\- - - - - -  
**_End of Ch. 4_**  



	5. New Power

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Special thanks to **Cat** for leaving a review, I'm glad you're enjoying the story. :)
> 
>  
> 
> Just to clear any confusion, this chapter is a recap showing Gohan's fight against 17 and 18 after breaking up the fight between the reader and the school bullies.

**__**

Chapter 5  
New Power  
\- - - - - - - -

“I'm not going to let you two beat me! It ends here for you!!!” Gohan yelled while beginning to power up. He spread his feet apart and took on his fighter’s stance.

“You do realize, Boy," 17 said, continually drawing closer, "that you aren't the first person to tell us that. Right, 18?” 

“This is going to be interesting either way,” 18 replied, a smirk playing across her lips. 

Then the two vanished.

Gohan began to frantically search for the two. “Where did they go? They must be androids; that’s why I can’t sense their ki at all!”

“Peek-a-boo…” came the voice of the female android from behind him. She was so close, that Gohan could feel her breath as she spoke. Before he could even turn around to blast her, she was gone.

Hardly a second later, Gohan heard the other android flying in from the left. He cursed under his breath for lowering his guard when 17 landed a swift punch to his face. Gohan skidded back from impact but caught himself in time to see both 17 and 18 sending a blast from either side. Gohan raised his ki until a shield formed around him and nullified the attack. 

Then, before either could react, or indeed before the ki shield had even worn off, he sped to 17 and returned the punch he’d received earlier. 17 then collapsed to his knees, writhing a bit while clutching his recently abused stomach. 

18 rushed in, her leg swung forward when in close enough range to kick Gohan in the head. Unfortunately for her, Gohan saw her charging toward him and jumped just over her head. 18 growled at his choice of actions, but noticed he left himself open.

“You're already becoming trouble,” 18 murmured under her breath then sent a blast to Gohan's ribs.

“Ack!!!” Gohan spat out a small fountain of blood as he was hit. He hit the ground and rolled onto his side, clutching his ribcage. He heaved as he tried to take in some air, but could hardly do so for the immense pain he was in. Sure, he’d been told to _never_ attack a woman, but he didn't know this one would do such a thing.

“Fine, then I won't hold back either!” Gohan growled, about to wipe the blood off his lip but was prevented from doing so once he saw the same android unleash another energy blast in his direction; even while he was down, she still seemed to have absolutely no qualms with attacking. 

The raven-haired demi had managed to roll out of the way just in time, jumping up to his feet and clutching onto his tender ribcage with his left hand. When he noticed his vision becoming hazy, Gohan quickly used the time he had to shut his eyes and shake his head so nothing appeared in doubles.

Just then his right hand was put to use as 18, yet again, came charging at him. The two began to punch rapidly at each other. Gohan, despite his injury, held up pretty well. That is until 17 came in from behind and elbowed the half Saiyan on the spine, **hard**. Gohan let out another cry of pain, feeling like his spine would snap in half. He fell to the ground.

“Hmph. You've put up a pretty decent fight for someone who received two serious blows,” 17 said who now towered over the demi-Saiyan, who watched him through one eye while the other shut from the pain. 17 used his foot to turn the demi onto his side then delivered a swift kick to his left arm. Gohan gagged from the copper taste of blood filling in his mouth, unable to cry out due to the immense pain coursing through him. He coiled up on the ground, still holding his arm until he was finally able to scream from the pain in his spine.

“But you don't hold up to your word very well, just like those other so-called warriors who tried to stop us before. But they were all talk,” 18 said, smirking. 

Gohan's eyes widened once he heard the comment about the ‘so-called warriors’—his friends! 

Just then images of Piccolo, Krillin and the others flooded Gohan’s mind, as he could only visualize how his friends met their fate. Gohan felt tears of rage build itself up at a very rapid pace; his hands angrily clutched onto the dirt beneath them. Why wasn’t he there to aid them when they needed him the most?

Gohan's eyes locked with the two androids and the pair saw a spark of energy emitted from his eyes. They flashed a different color, though it happened too fast to tell what before returning to their original color. He stood up slowly, numb to the pain that had prevented him from moving just moments before. Though, this time, his eyes weren't locked with 17’s and 18’s. Gohan's hair began to flash a different color: gold, black, and then gold again.

As he just stood there with his head tilted upward and his hair continuing its metamorphosis, 17 and 18 grew dull at the fact nothing else was happening and were about to agree in killing him right there. But as they lifted their hands to form the blast, Gohan let out a yell of rage and before the android pair had time to react, a wave from the half Saiyan’s ki sent them back into a damaged wall they had destroyed earlier. 

Gohan slowly lowered his head and opened his eyes so they met with the two antagonists, his eyes were no longer full of innocence; they changed from black to green, filled with anger blazing for the two who murdered Piccolo and the others. His once black hair was now a golden yellow. He had transformed into a Super Saiyan.

“Where is all this power coming from?” 17 questioned as he threw the planks off that had collapsed over him.

“17! We have to kill him now!!!” 18 yelled, pushing off a chunk of rubble that crumbled on top of her. 

During this, Gohan gathered a huge amount of ki into his palms and pushed both hands on one side and yelled something we’re all familiar with: “Ka. Me. Ha. Me. HAAA!!!” 

Gohan released the ki gathered from his palms just before he sent it in their direction. 17 and 18 could do nothing else, but widen their eyes as the blast came directly at them. 

Once certain 17 and 18 weren't going to budge from the pile of debris over them for the time being, Gohan lowered his hands from the last attack. His new power never left him, and neither did the pain. The anger from the loss of his friends still lingered but despite that, the Super Saiyan turned and began to stagger towards West City.

\- - - - - - - -  
_**End of Ch. 5**_  



	6. Won't Take No For An Answer

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Many thanks to my lovely and awesome reviewer:  
>  **Cat**

**__**

Chapter 6   
Won't Take No For An Answer  
\- - - - - - - - -

Gohan stirred in his sleep, occasionally grunting in pain as he shifted.

“Gohan? Can you hear me?” you asked through a whisper, making your way down the stairs and tentatively towards the room he had been placed in since the night before. You pulled up a nearby chair and sat by your brother's side. Nothing seemed like it took a turn for the worse, but to know there was someone strong enough to do this to Gohan, the strongest fighter in the world, left an unshakeable fear in the pit of your stomach. 

Trunks was nowhere to be found, you didn't see him anywhere in the house and noticed his bedroom door was open and empty. Bulma didn’t seem to be home at the moment either. You found it awkward that neither left a note for you. You figured it was nothing serious, so you shrugged it off and turned back towards your injured brother.

_‘Gohan… Please wake up.’_ You reached for his shoulder to lightly shake it, but quickly stopped yourself when noticing a gauzed patch over it. 

After a few moments, you heard the front door open. You turned to see Bulma entering, passing the hallway and into the kitchen where she placed the bag of groceries on the counter. You blinked quizzically then began to wonder if she had even noticed you in the living room.

“I see you're up now, ___. If you’re wondering why Trunks isn't here, he's at school. I thought it would've been best not wake you; you looked pretty exhausted last night,” Bulma explained, poking her head around the corner, most likely to show she did acknowledge your presence.

“What time is it, anyway?” 

“Right now…it's about a quarter till two,” she replied, looking at her watch before completely taking the subject off course. “You know, Trunks seemed to be particularly worried about you this morning.”

You were taken aback by the second comment. Sure, you and Trunks had been close friends from the time you both were little, but she made it sound like something...more. Why would she bring that up out of the blue? 

Just then… 

“Gohan! You're awake!” were the relieved words to come from your mouth. 

Bulma perked her head up from the steam-rice maker to the room adjoined with the kitchen. 

Gohan slowly looked around the room until he noticed you staring at him, still trying to hold back tears. You were so glad he was still alive! Gohan blinked a few times then turned his head as far as he could, due to the pain that plagued his body and the bandages that prohibited his movement.

“How are you feeling, Gohan?” Bulma asked, once he noticed her standing there.

“I'm alright,” he replied. His eyes then turned away from your sights.

“Gohan? What happened to you? You were completely covered in cuts, plus your hair and eyes changed colors!” you exclaimed, worry evident in your voice. You pointed to your own eye with one hand and held out a lock of your hair with the other.

Gohan's hand reached out and rested on the top of your head: his way of reassuring you that he was alright. He didn't look at you, however. 

While he had been unconscious, 17 and 18 roamed free to terrorize as many humans as they pleased. The painful fact that he survived, while countless others including Piccolo and Krillin had not, hit the demi-Saiyan like a ton of bricks. It helped him, in the fact it was the whole reason for his transformation. In order to turn into a Super Saiyan once more, he'd have to dredge up the memory of hearing about Piccolo and the others falling to their fates the next time he encountered the androids. 

He was the only Z-fighter left to carry out the duty of what his friends could not; but first he’d have to get stronger. 

The three of you suddenly turned toward the front door once a knocking was heard from the other side.

“I'll get it,” Bulma said while doing so. You and Gohan waited, and sure enough...

“Where are my kids—I've been worried _sick_!” Chichi yelled as she stormed into the house. “They both better have a good reason for not coming home last night!” 

Bulma tried to get her friend’s attention to explain about Gohan’s current condition. “Uh, Chi–” 

But Bulma only found herself being pushed to the side before being able to finish her sentence. 

“Gohan!!!” the worried Chichi rushed over to her son before resisting the urge to embrace him, knowing it wouldn't help in this situation. All she could do was clamp her hands over her mouth and hold back any tears from coming. 

The reason she didn't yell at you was because you were nowhere to be found. You managed to make it to the couch across the room to hide behind, not daring to take a peek. You crouched on your toes while listening to your mother asking your brother what happened to him. After a few minutes, you began to feel your legs fall asleep. 

“Alright, Gohan, where's ___?” Chichi asked after calming down a little when certain her son would be alright.

“I don't know,” he confessed. 

Chichi then looked at Bulma, only to receive a shrug from the latter.

“Young Lady! I know you can hear me, come out _now_!!!” 

You cringed, not wanting to have her see your bruises – she'd obviously know you hadn’t done anything heroic to receive them. You gulped, knowing that with your legs asleep, you could hardly move. 

“I'm going to look for her now, Gohan,” Chichi announced once she knew there wouldn’t be a reply. 

You suddenly jerked and let out an inaudible yelp, once a hand grabbed onto one of the sleeves resting on your shoulders then pulled you out from your hiding place and eye-to-eye with a worried Chichi. 

“Goodness—what happened to your face?!” she gasped, currently kneeling down eye-level to you then turned to face Gohan. “You didn't drag her into a fight or anything, did you?!” 

Before her eldest child could give an answer, you found your voice. “No, Mom, I got these from another girl at school…” 

Chichi turned her attention back to you and gasped in shock. She was about to give an earful but Gohan intervened, “Mom, ___ was involved in a fight, but I stopped it before things got worse. Then…” But then he grunted due to the pain in his ribs before he was able to continue. Chichi's mouth twitched, and her eyes began to water. 

Just then, she turned back to you and cried on your shoulder, “___! I can't believe you would put your brother to the point he would end up like this!!!” 

“No, Mom—Gohan didn't get hurt because of me! He stopped the fight I was in, then went off somewhere after telling me to come here!” was all you managed to say before Chichi started rambling on about what has happened to her children becoming rebellious.

**//Three Weeks Later//**

You sighed in irritation and turned onto one end of your bed, trying to sleep one late night but couldn't. Due to Chichi grounding you, you weren’t allowed to leave your room after a ridiculously early curfew hour.

Gohan recovered from the majority of his injuries and immediately resumed to his training. When he wasn’t eating or sleeping, he did nothing but train. At first, Chichi had tried to reason with him not to overexert himself, but soon gave up when realizing her son wouldn't change his mind. You would watch him train every night from outside your window. 

_‘Gohan…ever since that day, you've seem different,’_ you thought one night as you watched the form of his shadow train off in the distant, until he vanished from view.

This was a big risk, but you were going to take the gamble. “I'm going to ask him to train me, and won't leave until he agrees.”

You crawled out of bed then snuck out through your window.

= = = = = = =

“Gohan?” you called out in a low voice, so Chichi or a wild animal wouldn't hear. “I need to talk to you.”

Just then, you heard a rustle in the bushes from behind. You turned your attention towards it with fear beginning to rise; you knew immediately that it wasn’t him. Why would he hide there in the first place?

A saber-tooth tiger leapt into view and stared back at you with its glowing eyes. Saliva dripped from the corners of its maw, as it barred its incisors when the creature let out a low growl. 

Fortunately, your body was still somewhat responsive as you managed to slowly take a couple of steps back. Unfortunately, your voice was frozen. When you opened your mouth to call for help, you could hardly manage more than a terrified squeak. Your entire body began trembling uncontrollably. Having wandered deep into the woods late at night meant there was no one strong enough around to fend the giant feline off.

_‘Oh, Kami! What am I going to do?!’_ you mentally screamed as the overwhelming fear slowly made you feel as though you were about to faint.

The beast seemed to be taking interest to your fear. It slowly licked its chops and advanced a step closer, then another, and another, until it was within close enough range to pounce. Slowly, it crouched to the ground and made small swishes with the tip of its tail and peddled both its shoulder blades together.

Both your knees buckled, causing you to sink to your knees. Your heart pounded faster and eyes shut tightly once a large blur lunged forward. Just because you knew what was coming didn’t mean you wanted to see it!

Suddenly, two strong arms snatched you by your waist and pulled you upward. It felt as if your feet were ascending off the ground at a rapid rate. The wind pressed down on you, whipping tresses of your hair in the way, but you made no effort to open your eyes. 

Within moments, your savior slowed and landed. You then heard a voice call your name countless times while two strong hands gently shook your shoulders. You finally opened your eyes and saw Gohan right in front of you, whose worried expression became a frown. “What were you thinking?! Do you have _any_ idea what would have happened if I hadn't arrived in time?!” 

Both your body and mouth trembled again. Despite all efforts to calm down, it wasn’t enough. You buried your face in Gohan's chest while your hands gripped tighter onto his orange gi. Tears began to stream down your face as you sobbed. 

Gohan sighed and began to comfort you. He couldn't blame you for being frightened, remembering that he too experienced countless close calls as a child. 

After a few moments, he spoke up again.

“___...don't ever scare me like that again,” he scolded softly, but was still relieved that you weren’t hurt. “I don't know what Mom or I would do if something were to happen to you.” You nodded, showing you heard him and understood, then looked up at him.

“Gohan, I came out here to ask you to train me,” you said, wiping your tears away and sniffled, stating your business. His eyes widened slightly before frowning. 

“I'm not going to train you, ___. You just...your body can't handle it,” he explained then glanced down the ledge of the over-sized boulder you two took refuge on, to find the tiger no longer there.

“Why not?!” you whined. “If you’re able to transform like before, that means I can too!” 

Gohan shut his eyes once he heard that. Chichi had told you about Super Saiyans after the three of you returned home. 

“___…you’re completely different from me, alright? Just leave it at that.” 

Gohan was trying to control his temper. He knew you were the persistent type. He even had to keep his mouth shut from saying anything he shouldn't, so you’d understand why you could never become a Super Saiyan. 

“If you’re not going to show me how to transform, at least teach me how to defend myself! What if something like this happens again and no one else is around to save me? I can't just run away and hide!” 

“Wrong!” he yelled, turning to face you. “If you are able to escape then, sometimes, it's the smartest strategy! It’s not always about trying to prove who’s more powerful. Do you want to throw away your life like that!?” 

“Please, Gohan!” you pleaded, fingers laced together in a begging manner. “If you don't train me, I probably will end up dead. Think about what Mom would say to that!" 

After a few minutes, Gohan sighed then shook his head. “Alright,” he finally replied. “But on one condition: if you do anything, such as pick fights with other kids, the deal’s over. Also, don't tell Mom about this.” 

Your eyes widened as a smile broadened across your face and gave him a grateful hug. Gohan froze in surprise, but soon smiled before returning the hug.

\- - - - - - - - - -  
 ** _End of Ch. 6_**  



	7. Gohan's Second Apprentice

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Semi-violent and semi-sexual scene in this chapter.

_Ages_

You: 13

Trunks: 14

Gohan: 22

_****_

Chapter 7  
Gohan's Second Apprentice  
\- - - - - - - - - - - 

You sat at your desk with a look of boredom on your face while tapping the pencil on the desk, mimicking a drummer when beating sticks on the drum—a random habit of yours. After continuing this for a few minutes, the patience of the teacher and other students reached their limits.

“Miss Son, please _stop_ that!” the teacher ordered in irritation, then resumed to straightening the papers on their desk. 

Though reluctantly, you stopped, the eraser end of the pencil facing down on the desk. You silently sighed, chin resting lightly in your other hand as you close your eyes before inhaling and opened as you exhaled. 

You were in your least favorite class, taking a test. If your grades fell short, Chichi would ground you and that meant you’d have to spend the weekend studying rather than train with your brother which, thankfully, remained a secret from your mother. There were a few times, however, Chichi questioned you, but you always made sure to bring back firewood or something for dinner so she wouldn’t be skeptic.

The pencil twirled in your dominant hand as you glanced down at your watch, wishing the bell would hurry up and ring.

Finally, after what seemed for an eternity, the life-saving bell alerted everyone in the building that school was over for the day. Once the teacher had collected all the test sheets from your row, no time was wasted in encapsulating your supplies. Next, you rose from your seat and headed out the school gates.

As you started to cross the street of a not so busy intersection, a shriek was heard which was unable to escape your notice. With a glance to your left, four teens huddling in a circle inside an alleyway came into view; after a quick moment of observation, you made note all of them were guys and felt a sudden need to investigate it.

= = = = = = =

“Grab her legs!!!” one hollered while attempting to tie a gag around someone's mouth, as the rest loomed over a girl, about your age.

The victim trembled all over, knowing she couldn't possibly fight them off. She continued jerking her head side to side in order to keep them from tying the gag over her mouth.

“Don't. Struggle!” another hissed while busy unbuttoning his pants. He straddled her to keep her from moving away, while his friends worked on pulling down her pants. 

Getting a little closer, your eyes widened then narrowed at the rapists in front of you. Acting quickly, you glanced around until a rock on the ground caught your attention. You reached down to pick it up and chucked it at the head belonging to the one busy straddling the girl. 

“OW! Who the _fuck_ did that?!” he demanded, holding the back of his recently abused skull. He slowly turned around to see you as you lowered your hand with an intimidating look in your eyes.

“Get off of her,” you hissed in a vicious tone. “ _Now_!”

The thug you hit blinked in confusion, then they looked amongst one another and back to you before holding their sides due to the spasms of laughter. Their leader fixed his pants before getting to his feet, handed their victim to one of the other guys, and casually strode up to you. 

“What are you think you can do about it, Hun?” he jeered then jabbed you in the collarbone while looking you in the eye. You emitted a low growl from your throat and slapped his hand away. “Ooh… Please, don't hurt me,” he mocked in a toddler's tone and took a few steps back, pretending to cower down in fear.

Unfazed by his insult, you calmly closed your eyes. You then heard the sounds of his steps advance to your left. Based on his choice of actions and steps to take them, you anticipated the next move was to come in from behind to twist your arm back, in order to get you to collapse to your knees and beg for mercy. 

Your eyes snapped open as you swiftly sidestepped before he could carry out his rather predictable plan. By the time he noticed you advanced, you jumped up to his eye-level and swung your leg forward into his jaw, sending him colliding into a wall at the end of the alleyway where he immediately lost consciousness. 

The others looked at you with wide eyes and dropped jaws, but soon their surprised expressions were replaced with anger.

You turned to fully face the rest of the group. “Leave now and I'll let the rest of you go!” 

“You think you can scare us?!” they shouted before charging simultaneously at you.

You sighed. “Can’t say I didn’t warn them,” you murmured, while doing nothing but standing your ground. 

The trembling girl from the sidelines widened her hazel eyes as she saw you not making a single effort to move—were you that crazy to let an entire gang come charging at you while doing nothing about it?! 

Her question was immediately answered, once you jumped into the air higher than a normal person should be able to. Once you figured the timing was about right, and could tell the thugs were too busy trying to figure out just how you were able to stay up in the air, you dove feet-first with both arms over your head and rammed your foot into the closest one’s chest, sending him colliding into the others. All but one lost consciousness. You got to your feet and walked over to the new pile of trash before you, bending down and grabbing the shirt of the only one coherent.

“Y-you _bitch_!!!” he hissed as he winced, then spat on your face.

Your grip on his collar tightened as you reeled your dominant fist past your ear then punched him across the jaw hard enough that you heard something resembling the sound of a bone cracking. The force from the punch caused the shirt to rip off from the piece you held and sent its owner skidding across the asphalt until he crashed into the same wall as the first thug. 

Your stance returned normal as you wiped the spit off then turned your attention to the victim they preyed on. Your eyes softened before you made your way over to her. Her trembling increased as she tried to scoot away from you, only to find a wall blocking her from moving any further.

“It's alright; I won't harm you,” you soothed while continuing to approach her. You knelt down beside her and slowly reached around her head to untie the gag. “Are you hurt?” 

But she continued to tremble and left your question unanswered. 

After the gag was removed, you stepped back a little to give her some room. She eventually calmed down enough to shake her head, ‘No,’ to your question then averted her eyes to the side, looking at the ground. “Um, t-thank you...” 

You smiled softly and stood up. That’s when you noticed spots of crimson underneath her, not to mention her clothes were pretty ruffled up. Only a naive person wouldn't have a clue with what might have happened, but you had to be sure.

“Did they—?!” you nodded your eyes down. 

“N-no!” she stammered, shaking her head and blushing. “When I was knocked to the ground, I landed on some broken glass.” She carefully pulled out her leg out to show you, but winced afterwards; there was a pretty nasty gash on her leg, along with a thick piece of glass embedded in it. 

Without putting much thought into the gruesomeness of it, you turned until she had fixed her clothes then reached into your pocket, pulling out a handkerchief before tending to the injury. After tying a knot, you turned your back to her and knelt down. 

“Here, get on,” you offered. She blinked, but then hesitatingly complied.

“Um, where did you…learn to fight like that?” asked the girl.

“My older brother taught me,” you simply replied.

**//Three Years Ago//**

After breakfast, Gohan told you to come with him as he flew to the top of the hills where he trained. Unfortunately, you would have to make it there on foot while still trying keep up with him.

“It’ll be a good warm-up before beginning your training, ___,” you remembered Gohan explaining. 

He held the front door open and waited for you to step out. Once outside, he bent his knees slightly and started to power up. He turned toward you to see if you were ready. After giving him a nod, he took off.

It wasn't exactly easy keeping up with Gohan; thus, he had to occasionally remind himself you were still following him and slow down, so as to not leave you far behind. 

“Is everything okay down there?” 

“I'm doing _fine_ , Big Brother!” you replied while trying to hide the irritation in your voice.

= = = = = = = 

By the time you finally reached the hills, Gohan was there already working on his warm-ups. Once you joined him, Gohan had you do various types of warm-ups and you had to keep up with his counting on each one of them. Once that was over, you sat up after finishing your sets of sit-ups and push-ups and wiped the sweat from your forehead.

“So what next?” you asked while looking over at Gohan.

“I want to see just how strong you are, as of now,” he answered, holding his right hand up and told you to hit it with all your might. You balled your fist up and charged toward him and landed a punch in his hand with your dominant fist. Before you could hit his palm again, Gohan stopped you.

“What happened?” you asked, curious.

“When punching, never leave any vulnerability,” he instructed. “When throwing a punch with one hand, remember to keep the other hand in a fist and close to your side.” He held his right fist out while his left guarded his side, “See? If your other hand is already in a fist while guarding your side, your opponent will have a tougher time trying to sneak in a hit at your ribs. In any form of martial arts it’s important to have the element of surprise on your side, not theirs.”

“I…think I get it,” you said, studying the position of your brother’s fists before trying to mirror his stance with your dominant hand out.

“It’s alright if it isn’t completely clear because it’s only your first day, but I promise it’ll make sense as the training progresses. Now let’s continue!” 

You continued using your fist to punch his hand while trying to incorporate what he told you, occasionally altering fists when he held up the other hand.

= = = = = = =

“That's good. We'll stop here for now,” said Gohan, once he noticed your knuckles began to turn red.

Although you knew what he would most likely say, you crossed your arms and arched a brow at him. “You’re not going to make me run all the way home too, are you?”

Training for almost an entire day left you exhausted and feeling sore.

Gohan nodded. “I told you my training wasn’t going to be easy.” 

You slumped at this; but that would change quickly as you felt the wind current around you increase due to Gohan taking off. You immediately lifted your head up just in time to see him take to the sky. 

“That's not funny, Gohan! Not _all_ of us know how to go air-borne yet!!!” you yelled at the speck of his retreating form. You groaned then gathered your remaining strength to catch up.

= = = = = = =

After nearly a year in building strength and stamina, and once he figured you were ready, Gohan agreed to show you how to fly. However, the first procedure wasn't as easy as you thought it would be.

“Why can't I do it?” you growled, frustrated while sitting on the grass Indian-style, staring at your hands with intense concentration.

“I told you, the energy must come from the center,” Gohan explained, placing a hand on his stomach. You looked up from your hands to your brother. “Your hands also must be completely relaxed, ___, otherwise you cannot channel energy.” He sat across from you and held out his hands in front of him. “Watch closely now, as I show you again,” he instructed then calmly stared at his hands. 

While sitting on your knees, you leaned in and stared in awe when you saw a spark emit from Gohan's hands. Little by little, the spark evolved into a tiny ki sphere that glowed between his hands for a few minutes. After the energy dissipated, you looked up at him. 

“There, now you try.” He folded his arms over his chest and watched you attempt to create energy from your hands, as he showed you. 

Finally, after what seemed like hours, you saw a split second of a spark emitting from your hands. It surprised you a little, but you immediately refocused before losing concentration. Gohan continued to watch with a smile on his face, not saying anything to distract you. A few minutes later, your hands began to feel warm, and a glow emitted between your palms, which evolved into a ki sphere. Your eyes and face lit up while staring at the energy you created.

“Gohan, look! I did it!” you exclaimed, holding your hands out. “See?”

But due to the intense focus, you felt the side effect of exhaustion. Your vision blurred, and the energy between your hands dissipated. You swayed sideways and started falling forward, but Gohan caught you long before you could hit the ground. He looked down at your now sleeping form and smiled, then scooped you up and flew down the hill.

**//End of Flashback//**

As you continued to walk while carrying the injured girl on your back, you noticed she didn't talk much; you already picked up on the fact she was shy, but the tight grip her hands had on your shoulders become rather uncomfortable.

That’s when another thought struck: with Trunks already in High School, it wouldn’t be until another year before you could actually be in the same school as him again. This girl seemed nice, unlike those self-centered girls with a tendency to bring their own drama and gossip along everywhere they went. 

“So, what's your name?” you asked, trying to start a conversation. Since it was up to you to get her home, it would help if she weren’t completely shy in order to give you directions.

“I-it's Umi,” she replied. 

Little by little, she began to loosen her grip on your shoulders. 

“What's yours?” she suddenly asked. 

Your eyes widened almost imperceptibly. You weren't expecting someone as shy as her to ask you that, but you answered, “It's ___.”

= = = = = = = =

After dropping Umi off at her home, you glanced at your watch and realized it’d be impossible to get home before dark…on foot, anyway. After checking to make sure the coast was clear, you got a running start, bent your knees, and jumped high into the air; within seconds, gravity no longer had a hold on you.

 _‘Ah, **much** better!’_

It was a wonderful and calming feeling, having the wind blowing through your hair. It was as if all of your troubles were miles away.

After training for three years, you had improved your strength and learned how to fly. Though Gohan was still by far stronger, you were able to apply many concepts of martial arts and your strength exceeded that of the average teenager.

**/Elsewhere/**

“Run for your lives!!!” a random civilian screamed among the crowd currently standing in front of the androids, who had launched another surprise attack. The two made a reputation of thirteen years in annihilating towns and terrorizing its citizens.

18 sat on rubble with a look of boredom on her face, tired of watching 17 blasting at a building that stood in solitude here, blasting a human there. His lack of maturity really irritated her sometimes. 

17 however, thought otherwise. It was better than waiting outside of a mall while 18 took her precious time inside trying on one ‘cute’ outfit after another.

After standing paralyzed with fright for a few moments, the citizens finally took off in a stampede in the opposite direction.

“Stupid humans,” 17 murmured. He and 18 watched as they saw the mass of people flee to a meaningless attempt of escape. 

Deciding to make it more amusing, 18 smirked as an idea came to mind. “Let’s give them a head start, just for the fun of it.”

“Sure,” 17 agreed, allowing the former the honors of starting.

“Ten,” 18 began.

“Nine,” said 17.

“Eight.”

The civilians continued to flee for their lives, left right and center. Some hopped over cars and rubble.

“Seven.”

“Six.”

An elderly man, who was overwhelmed with fear, sat in the middle of the street as he held a little girl tightly in his arms while others continued running passed him, fearing for their own lives. The blond child whimpered in fear.

“Five.”

“Four.”

18 got to her feet and stood beside 17. The pair lifted a single digit to point to the masses of terrified humans.

“Three.”

“Two.”

The two smirked widely.

“One,” they said in unison.

A mass of energy was unleashed upon the city, destroying everything and all in its path while cries from the victims filled the air. Nearby, an exceptionally idiotic news reporter screamed one last commentary into his microphone. Neither android were satisfied until they heard final cries from the victims of the town. The pair donned a smirk and walked into the thick blanket of smoke and began their search for any humans that might’ve been trying to hide.

= = = = = = = =

_“The androids just unleashed a surprise attack on citizens of Pepper City!!! I don't see how **anyone** could have survived!!! It’s—”_

Bulma shut off the radio, not wanting to listen to yet another breaking report about the androids and how they continued destroying life without so much as a care, or remorse. She was on her way home after picking her son up from school and knew that hearing this would only urge him to rush in, unarmed, into an early demise; he was her only son and family left, she didn’t want to lose him. 

However…

“Mom, stop! I want you to go on home without me!” said Trunks. 

The hover car came to a halt and Bulma almost asked him what was wrong, but quickly protested once she caught on to her son's intentions. “Trunks— _don’t_ you dare!” 

Trunks rarely argued with his mother, but to be nothing more than a by-stander while these monsters wrecked havoc on Mankind was too much! Even if he didn’t amount to much, he’d never know the outcome without at least trying! Without another word, Trunks unfastened his seatbelt and blasted off into the sky toward Pepper City. Bulma watched angrily from her car seat, knowing she couldn't do anything about it now.

= = = = = = =

Trunks’ heart continued pounding inside his chest as he gained speed. Like you, he wasn’t considered to be the strongest fighter, but he still knew the basics and already knew how to fly, which he too had Gohan show him.

Trunks hoped to save someone, even if it were just one person unable to defend themselves against the androids. As soon as he arrived, however, the young demi-Saiyan looked down in shock and slowed down and stopped once he saw the destroyed city beneath him. His eyes and mouth widened as there appeared to be no sign of hope. 

“Everyone’s…dead!” 

Trunks fought to keep his rage for the androids under control; he still had to check, hoping desperately that his observation was incorrect. He touched down in the now destroyed city and began searching for survivors. Lifeless bodies lied scattered in the streets, some over rubble. Trunks balled his fists and tightly shut his eyes as he hurried to the next block, but what he saw caused him to nearly lose his composure: a small stuffed animal lying on the ground. Trunks clenched his fists tightly after seeing what appeared to be a bloodied-arm of a child sticking out of the rubble.

“Not even the children were spared! Those _monsters_!” Trunks knelt down to pick up the stuffed creature. He began to feel strong waves of sadness and anger swell in his chest, scrapping against the dam.

Suddenly, the sound of someone flying in caught his attention and the fourteen-year-old glanced over his shoulder and saw an older Gohan standing on a mountain of collapsed rubble behind him. Gohan noticed Trunks was trying to control the anger and hurt dwelling deep within him.

= = = = = = =

Now back at Capsule Corp., Gohan stared outside the broken window while the teen sat in a chair towards the other end of the room.

“Is this the way life is supposed to be?” whispered Trunks as tears continued to stream down his face. “I’d rather fight and die than watch this all happen! No, I can’t sneak around while this is going on!” He turned to face the tall figure of Gohan, who stood calmly looking out the window. “Please, train me!” The lavender-haired Saiyan got to his feet. “Come on, Gohan! You’re half Saiyan like me! Help me channel some of this anger!”

Gohan just stood there silently.

“Gohan!” Trunks repeated, thinking that he might not have heard.

“You’re pitiful, Trunks! An emotional wreck, just like I was when my mom wouldn’t let me train and fight with my father,” Gohan smiled at the boy, turning to face him. “From now on, I am your master and you are my pupil.”

A smile spread over Trunks’ face. “Great! I won’t let you down!”

Gohan smiled and nodded. “I know.”

“Trunks! I’m home!” a voice from the back called.

“My mom’s back, oh man!” exclaimed Trunks, furiously wiping tears from his face. “Please don’t tell her!”

Gohan smirked. “Right.”

\- - - - - - - - - -  
_**End of Ch. 7**_  



	8. Holding Out

_****_

Chapter 8  
Holding Out  
\- - - - - - - - - -

You sat up in bed to the new dawn, yawning while stretching both arms over your head but ceased once you felt your nose itch. Your head tilted back and nose twitched as the sneeze came forth.

 _‘I’ve been sneezing a lot ever since I stayed up to study for that **damn** test!’_ You reached for the box of tissue from your nightstand. After business with your nose, you glanced over at the calendar hanging on your wall and saw it was the weekend; that’s when you decided to hang out with Trunks. 

After quickly discarding the used Kleenex into the wastebasket, you flipped the covers back then scooted off of your bed. Next, you went over to your closet, grabbed a pair of jeans and a tee shirt, and headed towards the bathroom to shower.

= = = = = = = 

“Bye, Mom!” you called, stepping out of the house and balancing yourself while you finished slipping on a shoe. The front of your foot tapped twice on the porch to secure the footwear and closed the door behind you. The other hand began to twist your wet hair back.

Once you were far from the house as well as Chichi’s sight, a smile tilted your lips as you just stood in place. Eyes closed, you slowly exhaled and allowed your body to completely relax. Little by little, your clothes began to softly blow across your form before your feet started lifting off the ground until you floated five feet in the air. The grass and dust alongside the road began to blow in a ripple, starting off small before making its way out farther in to the meadow. You opened your eyes and lifted your head towards the sky as the wind current began to intensify, spreading into the trees and causing the branches to shake, the leaves rustling as they swayed in the breeze.

During this, you flashed the trademark Son-grin.

You blasted toward the sky at an exhilarating rate, flying high until a cloud came just within inches over your head. You slowed and angled yourself forward, allowing your ki to catch you before flying off.

It wasn't long since you entered high altitude that you sneezed again.

_‘I better not be coming down with something!’_ you thought angrily, feeling your forehead. Unfortunately, you noticed your body was starting to feel a bit sluggish and your vision had started to haze.

But would you allow this small, insignificant problem keep you from going out? 

Of course not! 

You shook your head vigorously to regain focus then quickly resumed onward.

= = = = = = =

“Alright, Trunks. Let’s see how much power you have,” said Gohan, sitting down with both folded arms over his chest.

The lavender-haired Saiyan nodded then closed his eyes, clenching his fists. The memory of everything he saw, from the time he flew into the town already destroyed, began to surface; not a single detail was ignored—from the smell of the exploded gas stations, to the abandoned stuffed animal lying on the ground, no longer having an owner to cuddle it as if it were real. 

The sand that Trunks stood in began to rise and surround him. Sparks flew within the walls of sand from the intenseness of his ki. He gritted his teeth and began to make grunt-like noises from his throat, turning into yelling while trying as hard as he could to channel the anger and energy needed in order to become a Super Saiyan. 

“You need to become angry. More angry, Trunks! Remember what you saw and how you felt! All of those men, women and children were nothing to the androids!” Gohan shouted from the sidelines, encouraging the rage sleeping within Trunks to awaken. It seemed to be helping.

As Trunks’ yelling rose, so did his rage. His ki began turning into a golden hue, his hair began to flare of the same color, and his blue eyes flashed to a teal green; he was almost there! 

Unfortunately, it wasn't enough to harness the transformation. Within a second, the grains of sand rained back onto the ground. Trunks’ golden ki diminished, both his hair and eyes returned to normal, and he sank to his hands and knees. 

“Why…can't I…do it!?” Trunks panted, confused and frustrated. 

“You will, Trunks, but transformations aren’t something that happens overnight,” Gohan explained, then stood up and walked over to the young teen. Trunks finally looked back up at Gohan once his lungs had recovered enough air.

“Now what?” 

“Now we’ll train in a different location,” Gohan answered before flying towards a nearby river. Trunks blinked, but got to his feet and followed.

**/With You/**

While flying for some time, you casually glanced toward the ground and saw two specks below. Blinking, you recognized them to be your best friend and your brother. You decided to land first rather than call out to them from above.

_‘Wow, I didn’t think I’d find them all the way out here.’_

After landing behind a boulder, you turned the corner only to discover that both Trunks and Gohan were nowhere to be found. A puzzled look flashed your features and you hovered off the ground again to start searching for them.

_‘Okay…? They were just here,’_ you thought while peering over another boulder, thinking you had just chose the wrong rock. It wasn’t your fault that they all looked generic.

Still with no luck in finding them, you folded both arms under your breasts and bit on your lower lip. You tilted your head towards the sky and decided to fly up.

As you continued to skim the area, you felt someone tap you on the shoulder. Your twisted, damp hair came undone and whipped around your face as you whirled around to see the two Saiyans in front of you. You opened your mouth to speak but paused, noticing Trunks' hair soaking wet, his bangs draped over his left eye. The long sleeves from his soaked shirt clung down to both arms. Your lips twitched as you stifled a laugh. 

“Umm…what happened to you?” you asked while pulling the damp locks of hair that clung to your face, tucking them behind your ears. 

“Gohan kicked me into the river…” he answered irritably. You turned and squinted to see a series of whirlpools in the river near one of the cliffs you hadn’t noticed on the way over. 

Trunks then explained that while during the spar session with Gohan, the black-haired Saiyan had kicked him off the ledge and into the wave-thrashing river. He had to struggle against the tides in order to stay afloat and swim out of it with no help from his mentor. 

“So you guys have been training then?” you inquired, facing him. Trunks nodded, but before you could suggest the three of you train together, your nose began to twitch.

**_“ACHOO!!!”_ **

The sneeze echoed in the sky and over the sound of roaring waves crashing against the rocks.

You sniffed and cursed under your breath. By the time both eyes reopened, you noticed the two Saiyans staring at you, dumbfounded. 

“Don’t tell me neither of you have heard anyone sneeze before,” you said after removing your hands from your nose. 

“You’re beginning to look a little pale, ___,” Gohan noted, ignoring the sarcasm while feeling your forehead. 

An exasperated sigh emitted from your throat. “It’s nothing,” you answered coolly, rolling your eyes just before you swatted his hand away. But the sigh had put a strain on your throat, followed by a small cough. You tried to hide it, but failed miserably.

“Your voice seems a little horse, ___,” added Trunks, concerned. 

“I said I'm fine,” you snapped. 

Trunks inched back, not wanting to piss you off any further.

Though not willing to admit it, you had started feeling the symptoms of a fever from the time you had to study for the test. Of course, those were only minor, yet familiar, signs: a few coughs and sneezes. However, it had now been a week since the test. When you started flying this morning, a few additional signs began to show: drooping eyelids, heating forehead, sore throat and a little light-headed. Not to mention you made it worse by flying at sonic-speed with wet hair.

You suddenly started to fight another cough by keeping it lodged in your throat, in hopes that your brother and Trunks wouldn’t notice. Although you had won the battle, your eyes were watering and each spasm caused your form to absently shake.

“Let's land, just to be sure,” Gohan finally said, still skeptic.

= = = = = = 

You gathered all remains of your focus just to sit up on a medium-sized rock. Since Gohan still wasn’t convinced that you were not sick, he told you to sit back on the sidelines while he continued to train Trunks. If you truly weren’t sick, your brother would include you in the sparring session once he was finished with Trunks. Being the stubborn individual that you were, you didn’t come all this way just to return home because of a lousy cold. Your fingers gripped around the edges so you wouldn't fall as you tried to remain alert as Trunks and Gohan continued sparring a few feet away, occasionally stopping to ask if you were feeling alright.

_‘When are they gonna stop treating me like a baby?’_

During this, you discreetly checked your temperature by resting an elbow on one knee to rest your chin on your open palm, curling your fingers against the burning cheek. You squinted and mentally dubbed yourself a fool for not taking those symptoms seriously before it was too late, now there was no question about it…you were sick.

Gohan quickly caught on to what you were trying to camouflage and held his hand up, signaling for Trunks to stop. “I’m going to take ___ home before we resume our training, Trunks.”

The lavender-haired teen nodded in understanding as they both hovered over towards you.

Before Gohan was able to scoop you up, you fell to the other end from overexertion. Instead of collapsing onto the ground of sand and sharp rocks, your head landed onto Trunks’ shoulder at the crook of his neck; it was enough to hold you up…well, sort of.

The young Saiyan jerked, causing him to lose his balance. Right as he landed on his back, you slipped off the rock and landed on top of him. Trunks gave a light _’oof’_ when this happened. He suddenly felt heat begin to flood his face, never having this situation happen to him, much less having this kind of contact with a girl…

Uh, he wasn’t supposed to be allowing thoughts like those take root.

You absently shifted to your side; if you hadn't passed out from your fever, it would probably only appear as if you were asleep. Trunks gulped and turned his head in the other direction to hide the forty shades of red on his face. He carefully started to sit up, but found it impossible; the shallow breathing from your slightly parted lips was brushing against his neck, sapping the strength right out of him. 

While in your state of slumber, your legs curled against your chest as you nuzzled against the warmth…unaware that this was applying slight friction to the Saiyan under you. Trunks bit back a groan and felt twice as many more shades of crimson flood his face when he felt your lips ghost over his skin.

After managing to regain his senses, Trunks tentatively, yet gently, grabbed onto your shoulders and slowly lifted you up before slowly sitting up himself. The damp locks from your hair fell over your face as your head motionlessly flopped sideways and fell back against the young demi’s chest. Still blushing, Trunks gave up and finally looked up at Gohan, who’d been standing there the entire time, for help. Gohan chuckled a bit then lifted your unconscious form off of Trunks.

= = = = = =

“It looks like you do have a fever, after all,” Chichi confirmed after examining the thermometer. She adjusted your pillow then helped you lean back against it. “Make sure to use the rest of the weekend resting up.” She exited your room, taking the empty soup bowl and closed the door behind her.

You rested one hand on your forehead and the other over your stomach. The blanket slowly rose as you sighed, bored with the fact you had to spend the rest of the weekend in bed. The only thing you could recall was being venomous towards Trunks and Gohan; next thing you knew you woke up in your bed and felt much worse.

A while later, you heard the front door open followed by muffled voices downstairs. Despite the fact of feeling weak from the fever and too curious to try falling back asleep, you managed to slowly lift the covers off yourself and descended the stairs. 

Ox King had stopped by, bringing bags of groceries and was currently in a conversation with Chichi.

You were about to return to your room due to feeling light-headed, but heard something that had immediately gripped your attention and caused you to stop dead in your tracks.

“By the way, I heard a rumor about Gohan and Trunks,” Ox King said, standing by while carefully waiting for Chichi's reaction and unaware of your eavesdropping.

“Gohan? Is he alright, Dad?!” Chichi asked worryingly. She leaned forward in her chair slightly, setting a pair crochet needles and the fabric she was working on down onto the table beside her. 

Soon after Gohan turned twenty, he had set out to live on his own. He would still come by to visit, though there were times he would take off and have no explanations as to why. You never blinked as your need to know intensified as well. You saw them not too long ago; they both seemed to be okay. 

“He’s doing fine; not to worry... But supposedly he has been challenging the androids and is also training Trunks who, apparently, wants to avenge all of those who’ve been killed by them,” Ox King replied.

Back leaning against the wall, you hung your head which caused your hair to fall in front of your shoulders. 

_‘Trunks… Gohan… You idiots!’_ you brought your dominant fist up to your chest and clenched it tightly.

Though never actually coming face to face with 17 and 18, as they mainly stayed within the cities, you remembered very clearly seeing your brother in the condition he was in when he transformed for the first time after fighting them. That memory still haunted you to this day.

_‘The news says that over **half** of the world’s population is dead because of those androids! What am I supposed to do if they kill you both too?!’_

The sound of Chichi sighing pensively caused you to snap out of your thoughts. Opening your throbbing hand, you were able to make out four red crescent marks which would’ve led to bleeding had your nails dug any further into your skin. You lowered your hand then snuck a glance around the corner. You saw your mother holding a frame and staring somberly at the picture, of her younger self standing beside her husband, Goku, who held a toddler Gohan in one arm, while his other hand rested on Chichi's shoulder. It was a time when the three of them were genuinely happy. 

“If only those androids never came around, Gohan could have been a great scientist by now,” Chichi whispered, blinking multiple times to keep her tears under control. 

Your legs suddenly started to feel weaker from the fever. You rested your head in one hand while using the wall for support, but it didn’t take long for the fever to dominate. 

“Are you ever going to tell ___ about...that day?” asked Ox King, averting his eyes to the floor. 

Chichi slowly shook her head. “It was hard for Gohan to explain what he saw there; think of how ___ might react if she found out everything around her was destroyed.” She hugged the picture close to her, though her eyes never met with her father's. 

Meanwhile, unbeknownst to them, you had fallen unconscious on the floor from the other side of the wall after hearing everything except the end of the conversation.

\- - - - - - - - -  
_**End of Ch. 8**_  



	9. I’ll Fight Too! (Pt. I)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Special thanks to **son_gohan** for reviewing!

  
_**Chapter 9  
I’ll Fight Too! (Pt. I) **_  
\- - - - - - - -

Chichi found your body, passed out on the floor, under an hour later and rushed you off to the hospital at once. The fever took a few days to die down and for you to regain your strength.

“You have a visitor, it’s a girl,” Chichi told you, taking a pitcher of water and pouring it into a plastic cup. You sent her a questioning frown, but the answer dawned on you shortly after. 

The girl you had rescued from those rapists: Umi. 

You gulped as another thought occurred. “Did she say why she was here?” you asked cautiously, though trying to sound as casual about it as possible. 

Chichi shook her head then handed you the cup. “No, not really; shall I tell her to come back later?” 

It was your turn to shake your head, relieved that your mom didn’t seem to have any knowledge regarding your training. “I’m feeling much better now,” you replied, sitting up from your temporary hospital bed. 

Chichi nodded and walked over to the door and opened it. Behind it was Umi with the same shy look on her face. Her gaze slowly lifted from staring the floor tiles and looked at Chichi, then at you.

“You may come in,” you consented in a friendly manner.

After Chichi left the room, Umi bashfully entered the room and sat in the chair beside your bed. She stared down at her hands situated on her lap and remained silent. 

You cleared your throat and decided to speak up, “Is your leg feeling any better now?” 

She looked up from her hands to you and nodded then looked at the closed door then back to you. “When I…” she began, pointing at the door behind her. You leaned forward, allowing her to continue, “Came by yesterday, I saw two guys right outside the room. I wasn’t sure if whether or not they were family, but the doctors told me you were asleep and that I wasn’t allowed in.” 

You were a little surprised to hear the concern in her voice. Though still a stranger, she already seemed to be worried for your safety. 

“You must mean Trunks and Gohan,” you clarified, drawing your knees to your chest and rested your elbows on top of them. You began explaining to her whom the two were to clear any confusion.

“Trunks...he sounds like a nice person...” Blushing, Umi looked up at you, “Are the two of you to-together?”

Just then you began to choke, almost spitting out the water you began sipping at the time. “What—No! He’s my best friend!!!” you exclaimed in between coughs.

The sudden commotion caused nearby doctors and nurses to peer in and pressed a finger to their lips, _shush_ ing you. A high number of crimson shades flooded your face. You turned so your back now faced Umi and the eavesdroppers…or, _doctors_ who shortly resumed their daily routine.

“I-I’m so sorry! I was only...” she whispered, but paused in mid-sentence and began scooting her seat away from the bed and out of your reach, remembering what you were capable of.

As you reached for a Kleenex on the nightstand to wipe away the water trickling from your mouth, you turned around at the sound of Umi getting up from her seat, her eyes staring at the floor as she began walking towards the door. Realizing you must’ve intimidated her, you glanced down at your now empty cup in between your knees. 

“Sorry…I know you were just trying to help.” You continued to turn the object in your hands with your thumbs. The two of you simultaneously looked up at one another. She smiled in understanding.

“That’s alright. Actually, I better start heading home while it’s still safe outside. Thank you again for saving me,” she said, turning towards you and gave a small bow. Unable to return the bow while sitting on the bed, you smiled and nodded once instead.

You set the glass back on your nightstand before falling back against the pillows and rested a hand over your eyes. _‘That was still completely straight forward; I would have **never** expected that question to come from her.’ _

= = = = = = 

At last, the day of being released from the hospital finally came. Upon returning home, the first thing you did was rush to your room, fling the door to your bedroom open, and crashed on your own bed, the nostalgic feeling returning.

Regardless of appreciating the feel of own your bed, you sat back up and walked over to the closet. _‘I better catch up on my training.’_

In order to keep the attire out of Chichi’s sight, you had to stash it in an old box and taught yourself how to wash your own laundry. 

Finding your gi and black training boots, you tossed them over towards the bed. After getting changed, you quietly turned your bedroom doorknob open and peaked outside to make sure the coast was clear before creeping down the stairs while tying your hair back.

You glanced around the hallway and saw Chichi in the living room, along with the sound of the television on. You began considering sneaking out through your window, but suddenly an announcer with another break-in report, along with Chichi’s gasp, caused you to freeze and look at the television. 

_“Here is live footage of the androids terrorizing the citizens over at Super World!!!”_

Your eyes widened. The television displayed images of the amusement park being blown up as explosions hailed down from the sky. For a split second two shadows were shown of the ground, blasting at numerous objects and the many frighten inhabitants. 

Just before you were able to see what they looked like, they sent a blast at the cameraman and a blizzard of static cut off the reception. Chichi instantly turned pale and fainted on the couch behind her. 

Snapping out of the shock and not wasting any more time, you bolted back up the stairs towards your room while pulling your hair through your band then slipped on a pair of black biker gloves.

_‘If those rumors were true then both Trunks and Gohan are most likely heading over there right now, but they shouldn’t have to fight the androids on their own!’_

Opening the window, you hopped up on the sill and blasted off into the sky. If you were gone any longer than you had hoped to be, Chichi would, without a doubt, discover where you had disappeared to after she came around.

“Well, it’s too late to turn back now!” you thought aloud then steadily gained speed.

= = = = = = 

Meanwhile, Trunks and Gohan were also flying towards the same destination.

“This is it, Trunks!” Gohan said, seeing countless numbers of people on the ground fleeing the park in fear. Trunks frowned as he saw the same thing.

Suddenly, the sound of another person flying in caught both of their attentions. The two Saiyans stopped, hovering in mid-air as the speck from the distant came into view. 

“___—what’re you doing here?! If you just got out of the hospital you need to be at home, resting!” 

You stopped as soon as you caught up to them and furiously shook your head. “I can’t. I just saw on the news what these monsters are doing, Gohan; I don’t want this to continue any more than you do.” You balled your fists at your side then glanced down at the ground as sounds of terrified screams continued to fill the sky. “It's true that I may not know of all the horrible things they've done…” you whispered then looked back at him and Trunks again, frowning, “but there’s just no way I can simply turn back while you guys are left alone to fight them!” 

Trunks remained silent, watching the sibling stare down between you and Gohan.

Before your brother could protest, the three of you turned towards the direction of the park when another blast erupted and a darker set of smoke filled the sky. 

Gohan gritted his teeth and balled his fists. There was only one option left now; although not the one he wanted, this wasn’t the time to be arguing while there were lives at stake. 

“Listen up: the two of you are to take cover when I’m fighting them,” he instructed as his back faced both you and Trunks.

“Right,” you and Trunks replied in unison before the three of you continued flying toward the battle about to begin.

\- - - - - - - - -  
**_End of Ch. 9_**  



	10. I’ll Fight Too! (Pt. II)

**__**

Chapter 10   
I’ll Fight Too! (Pt. II)   
\- - - - - - - - 

While flying over the park, you felt your stomach starting to churn from the unpleasant scenery on the ground: Destroyed pillars which once held up signs for attractions now lay scattered in pieces, whilst other pieces were crumbled on top of those who weren’t fortunate enough to reach the exit. Battle tanks were turned over and soldiers, who once guarded the entrance, were permanently laid to rest on the earth's surface.

Just as you passed another pillar of smoke, a piece of cinder flew into your eyes. This caused you to squint and began to carefully rub it out, a few images flashed into your mind’s eye. You saw a village set ablaze as people screamed for help or continued to search frantically for loved ones; either way, every last one of them succumbed to the smoke and died. It all seemed familiar, but why? You had no recollection of it. 

You held a hand over one of your eyes, but the morbid images continued to swarm your mind’s eye, each one appearing faster than the last. You mentally clutched your head, trying to will it all away. 

Suddenly, a young woman covered in burnt marks appeared. Your face paled and cold beads of sweat dripped down your face as she tilted her head up and gazed at you with blank eyes. 

“ _My hope_ ,” she whispered then tried to reach out to you. Suddenly, a scorching wall of inferno surrounded and swallowed her whole. 

“Are you alright, ___?” asked Trunks, flying beside you. 

The images of fire along with the woman vanished and the headache reduced to a dull ache when your mind registered his voice. Regardless of the recently ghastly scene, you looked over to him and lowered your hand from your eye. Next, you gave a faint smile and nodded. “Yeah, some of the cinder back there flew into my eye; I’m alright now.”

Trunks stayed by your side for a few minutes before flying ahead to catch up to Gohan. You continued to stay back, still trying to absorb the wreckage on the ground caused by two beings. You gulped in a breath of air and briskly rubbed your arms to make the goose bumps disappear. 

By the time you were calm as one could possibly be in the current situation, you glanced ahead in time to see both Trunks and Gohan dive towards the ground. You took that as your cue and stealthy gained speed to catch up. When landing, you stood beside Trunks who stood behind Gohan in front of a carousel. Trunks briefly glanced to his side upon hearing you touch down next to him before he looked ahead again, frowning at the pair before you.

“You’ve become a real problem. This time we _will_ kill you,” the female Android said to Gohan. A chill traveled up your spine as you heard her cold and emotionless voice. The coldness of her voice matched her icy blue eyes perfectly.

The male Android glanced over until his gaze met yours. His eyes were the exact same as the girl’s, just as emotionless and just as cold. It gave you an eerie sort of feeling. 17 smirked when he noticed you were trying to mask any sign of fear. “Do you _actually_ intend on having children fight your battles now?” he asked as he casually glanced back to Gohan. His tone was much like his sister’s, though not effeminate. 

Gohan glared and got into his fighter stance. “Your fight is with me, _not_ them!” he answered in a calm, yet dangerous tone of his own. Both you and Trunks stepped back just as promised. 

“Hn. You say that now, but I have a hunch it won’t stay that way.” Still smirking, 17 stepped down from the ride then casually raised his right hand out, throwing a blast at the ground. 

The Saiyan saw said android speed towards him from the rouse of smoke in attempt to fly up close and kick him. Gohan must have noticed this, because he immediately took to the air before 17 could succeed in carrying out that plan.

While migrating from the battleground, you absently looked over your shoulder after hearing a blast and saw Gohan in the air in his Super Saiyan form. You slowed down then stopped as you watched him advance forward and exchange punches with 17.

“___, we need to find a safe place to land!” Trunks yelled after turning around and realized you were no longer behind him. He quickly flew in front of you and placed a hand on both your shoulders and lightly shook you. But you couldn’t stop watching the fight transpiring. Even though you didn’t doubt your brother’s strength, part of you still worried for his safety.

Gulping audibly, you latched one hand on one of Trunks’ arms. You saw 17 holding the upper hand of the fight at the moment. He was punching Gohan repeatedly around in the air and following closely behind with another punch, not allowing time for Gohan to recover and counter. As the Saiyan was thrown forward, the android sped up to meet him half way then punched him back up in the air until he switched strategy and elbow-bashed Gohan’s back, sending him crashing through a roof.

Trunks quickly looked over his shoulder to witness the same thing. He suddenly felt your hand gripping tighter onto his sleeve. 

Realizing you hadn’t heard him and wouldn’t have moved by this point anyway, the lavender-haired Saiyan quickly pried your fingers from his arm and grabbed onto your wrist. He led you safely to the ground near a roller coaster untouched by the Androids. 

By the time the two of you landed, Gohan had turned the tables in his favor by punching 17 in the face, slamming the Android against one of the rollercoaster’s pillar where both you and Trunks stood. Noticing this, Gohan flew in the other direction after making sure 17 followed closely behind in order to divert him away. 

You and Trunks continued to watch Gohan fight in the air with little difficulty. 

_‘Yes! He’s winning!’_ you thought admirably as your brother landed a swift kick to 17’s jaw, sending him flying from the impact. 

Gohan flew after the Android to finish the fight once and for all. Your smile, unfortunately, was short-lived as 18 intervened by appearing out of nowhere and sent a swift blow across Gohan’s jaw, slamming him against a window before falling onto the ground. The glass shattered into tiny slivers and fell on top of him. 

As 17 quickly recovered from the punch, he joined 18’s side. “Don’t interfere, 18!”

“He was just about to do you in,” 18 reminded him, smirking. Her cold azure eyes flicked over to her counterpart. “Let’s work together.”

Then the two sped towards Gohan, who struggled against the pain to stand. You watched in horror as 17 moved behind 18, so it would appear from Gohan’s angle that only she was coming towards him. Suddenly, the two split and began attacking the half-Saiyan from either side. 

_‘I have to do something!’_ You clenched a fist once you saw the pain on your brother’s face. Before you knew what you were doing, you started to rush in only to feel a hand quickly latch around your wrist. 

“No! Let me go, Trunks!!!” you yelled, trying to yank your arm free. But he continued to hold onto your wrist without effort. “My brother needs my help!”

“Gohan told us to stay out of it, ___! We can’t inter—” 

But Trunks was cut off shortly after the two of you saw 18 fly close to the ground, swiftly knocking Gohan off his feet, followed by 17 knee-bashing the Super Saiyan’s ribs. 18 then proceeded by performing a swift uppercut to his jaw. 

You used this moment to elbow your distracted comrade in the stomach, freeing yourself of the vice grip and then charged towards the battle.

18 saw your arrival from her peripherals and smirked. Gohan also noticed your arrival as he yelled to the Androids, “No! Leave her out of this! She doesn't—” 

However, he was cut off as 17 slammed him into a wall. 18 ignored Gohan's pleads as she jumped back with her hands over her head and launched a blast in your direction.

Due to the speed you charged at, there wouldn’t be enough time to dodge it. 

_‘Damn it!’_ you mentally cursed, realizing your fatal mistake.

Right as it was about to hit you, Trunks, following closely behind, shoved you out of the way. Falling to the ground, you skidded on your back but remained unharmed, thanks to your thick gi. By the time you sat up and opened your eyes, Trunks took it upon himself to charge after the same Android who began a series of back-flips to stay out of reach. You would have gone to help him, but the two had disappeared from sight before you even had time to stand on your feet. 

You froze as the familiar sound of a blast forming reached your ears and quickly looked around before taking a step back. You whirled to your right where, on a rooftop, stood 17. He held his hand out in front of him with a white energy ball in his hand. Your eyes darted to where he aimed and widened when they came across Gohan, who lied wounded and stunned on the ground. Both the golden color of his hair and ki began to dwindle. 

You growled before you bent your knees and took off to aid your brother in battle. _‘Hold on, Gohan!’_

17 heard you vastly approaching. The ball in his hand dissipated and he lowered his hand before turning to face you. 

Speeding closer, you pulled back your fist to your ear and sent it forward as you aimed for his face; unfortunately, that plan didn’t work as 17 effortlessly caught the fist with one hand.

“Pitiful,” was the only commentary he made as he watched you attempt to free your hand from his grasp. 17 didn’t budge when you switched strategy by rapidly kicking him in various locations, in which he used his other hand to block those effortlessly. 

Once 17 became bored from watching you try to fight back, he started to squeeze your wrist. 

Your legs immediately went limp and your eyes widened then squinted in pain. You used the other hand to latch onto his wrist in attempt to hold yourself up. As more sharp pain pulsated rapidly up your arm, you grew more desperate for escape that you began to gnaw at his ice-cold hand with your teeth and dig your fingernails into his skin. But the Android remained unfazed as a malicious smile tilted his lips.

Your fingers from the other hand twitched as it struggled with the remains of your strength to hold the rest of your body up. Tears and small beads of sweat began to well up while you attempted unsuccessfully to suppress a whimper, which slowly came closer to the brink of hyperventilation. 

Then, unable to withstand the pain any longer, your hand slipped off of 17’s and you sank to your knees. Hardly a second later, you heard and felt a sharp snap. Your tears streamed from your eyes, followed by a blood-curdling scream piercing the air.

Gohan’s eyelids immediately shot open. Upon forcing himself to his feet, the first thing he saw was 17’s back facing him. 

With your fist still tightly in his grasp, 17 slowly raised his hand so your feet now dangled off the roof. 

“Stop it!!!” you screamed. But your protests were cut off once the Android used his other fist to punch you in the stomach. Your eyes bulged just before you coughed up a mouth-full of blood, flecks of it landing on 17’s face. 

“You’re in no position to give me orders,” 17 said disdainfully before he released your wrist one finger at a time. 

Still in a state of shock from the two previous attacks, you hardly had time to feel yourself falling forward just seconds before 17 delivered a spin-kick into the same spot where he punched your abdomen at lightning-speed. Your entire vision suddenly seemed to move in slow motion just before the world around you began to blur. 

Clutching your stomach, you crashed through a series of shops and restaurants all the way towards the other end of the park until you crashed through a window of a house full of mirrors. Your limp form tumbled on the floor and over pieces of broken glass. Lying in the center of the room on your side, you curled up into a fetal ball and cradled your broken wrist close to you. Hardly a second later, a piece of debris fell and landed before you.

Due to taking tremendous amounts of damage within a short amount of time, the roof began to crack; meanwhile, the same Android fired a blast from his spot, causing the place to crumble on top of your abused body. 

“___!!!” Gohan cried after he saw the smoke appear. It happened so fast that there hadn’t been enough time for him to act! But he still couldn’t forgive himself for not being able to protect you. Now furious, he lowered his head. His ki flared dramatically with rage, transforming back into a Super Saiyan then jumped up and landed on the roof. He stood across from the Android. 

“Don’t look so surprised over there,” 17 said calmly, wiping the blood from his face with the back of his left hand as though thinking nothing of it. “She should’ve known better than to have interfered—though, it’s your loss for bringing those two along, knowing full well we’d kill them as well.” He then turned with a smirk towards the angered Super Saiyan.

Before able to charge at him, Gohan halted abruptly and looked to his far left upon hearing a blast in the distance about to fire. 

Then it hit him.

“Oh no—Trunks!!!”

= = = = = = =

After taking the blast intended for you, Trunks quickly recovered his footing before he started charging after the female Android. The two dashed up to the top of a Ferris wheel and stood on a cart of their own.

“If you’re smart, you’ll leave while you still can,” 18 threatened the teen across from her, holding her fists at her sides.

“So the two of you can gang up on my friends?!” snapped Trunks. 

With that, he charged at 18 and tried to punch her from left to right, but she easily dodged the flying fists. Seeing this, Trunks brashly decided upon a change of pace and performed a midair spin-kick, which she also dodged. 

18 then began countering Trunks’ attack with punches of her own and considering how inexperienced of a fighter the boy was, the fists hit him repeatedly with ease. Despite this, Trunks managed to stand his ground and succeeded in blocking a punch then began to rapidly punch back at 18, slowly pushing her to the edge of the Ferris wheel stall upon which they perched. 

Just as Trunks began aiming his fist for 18’s face, a piercing scream reached his ears and caught him off guard. Regardless of the situation at hand, he instinctively turned to the general direction it came from.

18 used this opportunity to slug him across the face. But as she had leaned forward to take this action, Trunks swiftly sank his knee into her abdomen. The angered 18, rather than showing signs of pain for more than a moment, raised her fist above her head and brought it down on the Saiyan’s face once more. Trunks then began a journey of what would be a long fall with a new bruise on his face where he had been hit, but 18 caught onto the front of his shirt and held him out in front of her. The semi-conscious teen cursed at her, despite the fact his life was now literally in this Android’s hands. 18 growled and raised her right hand, creating a giant sphere while her left held the victim in place.

Before able to fire it, Gohan kicked 18, causing her to drop the boy. But from the ground 17 fired a blast, hitting the falling Trunks from behind.

“Die, you brat,” 18 murmured, after regaining her balance and threw the orb still in her hand. 

Gohan managed to catch Trunks who was now unconscious and quickly turned to shield the teen before 18’s blast could hit Trunks. Soon, both Androids began flying after them and started blasting at the fleeing demi-Saiyans.

“This isn’t good!” Gohan murmured, continuing to dodge the blasts while making his way to the ground. “I can’t fight them like this, and at this rate I won’t be able to reach ___!” He turned around one last time upon hearing 17 and 18 closing in. They continued to blast the buildings around them in order to chase him out into the open. Gohan glanced down at Trunks, cursed under his breath, and ran behind the closest building. The Androids continued to fire blasts for a few moments and then they stopped. 

“How could he have escaped again?” 17 asked angrily once the dust settled and their target was nowhere in sight. 

As the twins argued amongst themselves, Gohan frantically looked from one side to the other from the wall he hid behind; worried in the possibility they would begin their search for you, and angry that there was nothing he could do. His eyes widened in shock once he heard their next plan from the other side.

“Let’s take a few potshots; we might get lucky,” 17 suggested.

“Cool,” was 18’s only reply.

17 and 18 turned their backs from the wall. Next, they both rose up a hand over their heads and unleashed a giant mass of energy upon the remains of the park.

= = = = = = = 

“Do you think we got him?” asked 18, looking around passed the smoke from the remains of a giant teacup of which she sat on.

“I don’t know. Did you hear any yells?” 17 questioned, his back facing 18.

“No.” 

“Then we didn’t get him.” 

“Yeah, I guess you’re right…” 18 commented, giving the faux horse head from the carousel by her foot a half-hearted kick. “This sucks.” She paused and looked at 17. “Wait, wasn’t there a third?”

17 just turned towards her and smirked. “There _was_.”

Satisfied, the two flew away. Nothing remained from the amusement park that had once been there except for rubble along with over-sized broken teacups.

\- - - - - - - - - -  
 ** _End of Ch. 10_**  



	11. The Aftermath

**__**

Chapter 11  
The Aftermath  
\- - - - - - - -

Everything was silent throughout the park. Not even the noise of wind howling or birds chirping rented the sky. After what seemed like hours since the park had been decimated Gohan was the first to regain consciousness, albeit barely. He had been very fortunate to survive that final attack, though at a dire price: his left arm had been dismembered while protecting Trunks. The left side of his face now had a fresh, long gash that would no doubt leave a scar.

As alertness of his surroundings registered, so did the razor-sharp pain over his body. Gohan looked around and eventually spotted Trunks lying unconscious on the shattered concrete. Despite being in a critical state, the black-haired Saiyan struggled against the pain to prop himself on his only elbow then gathered the remains of his strength to slowly drag himself over toward Trunks. 

After moving only a few feet, he found himself needing to stop momentarily to catch his breath. During this time, Gohan noticed his vision beginning to blur. He shook his head to regain his focus and quickly reached for the small pouch tied to the side of his sash. Next, he held it in front of him and began to untie the knot with his teeth until it came undone. 

However, to his misfortune, only one Senzu bean rolled out. Even when shaking the end of the pouch to double check, the scenario hadn’t changed. Gohan reached for the bean and held it between his thumb and forefinger. 

“Kind of like my arm; only one left...” he said grimly. “What would Father have done?”

Since Gohan's consciousness was already depleting and because there was no chance of making it to—much less finding—you, time was crucial. Gohan gritted his teeth and tightly clutched the last chartreuse bean in his hand. He knew that due to the circumstance, and his current condition, the decision had already been made. 

Gohan continued to drag himself over the loose pieces of concrete scattered in his path. The immense pain from the injuries accompanied him along the way as pieces of sharp rubble and glass entered his flesh. Before completely reaching the teen, Gohan fell over on his side after losing his balance and hissed from the searing pain of the impact. No longer possessing the necessary strength needed to drag himself any further, he reached out and slowly forced the last of the bitter-tasting **(1)** legumes into the boy's mouth with his thumb. 

“H-here... This is for you, Trunks...”

After successfully completing the task, and no longer able to fight darkness from claiming him, Gohan slipped out of consciousness.

= = = = = = = =

You lay still, buried and alone under the layers of cold rubble. However, it was thanks to this encasement that you were protected against the attack upon the remains of the park.

After nothing but solitude and darkness, a faint echo of what seemed to be footsteps seeped through the small crevices of rubble before reaching your ears. Although still somewhat in a haze of unconsciousness, you began to drift into alertness from the sound of broken glass crunching as the footsteps grew louder until suddenly, they stopped. 

Before you could wonder what would happen next the weight from the rubble gradually lessened, making it easier to breathe. You curled into yourself and coughed, due to all the dust hanging aloft as the chunks of rubble were thrown off. You didn’t know who found you or how, though none of that mattered at the moment—you were too busy inhaling breaths of precious air. 

Next, a pair of hands carefully turned you from your side onto your back then slid under your shoulders and slowly held you up, allowing your head to rest on an arm. Your eyelids stirred and opened halfway. However, after being buried without any light for Kami knows how long, all you could make out was a blurred silhouette of lavender and blue. 

“T-Tr...unk...s...?” you responded weakly while continuing to inhale the air your lungs craved.

“Oh my gosh—what happened to you?!” 

Both of your gloves were now shredded, enough for Trunks to notice the blotched swelling on the fractured wrist. Both your face and arms were riddled with smudges and gashes inflicted from the broken glass and debris surrounding you. A few shards and splinters were even tangled within your now unkempt hair.

“I…I don’t remember,” you answered before a cough interrupted. “All I remember is rushing in to help Gohan fight against that android, then...” suddenly your head erupted in pain as you tried to push yourself to remember. Your world swirled and throbbed, causing you to hold your forehead. 

“Just hold on…I’ll have my mom look at your injuries, so try not to worry.” 

Maybe it was just your mind playing tricks on you, but something in Trunks’ tone carried a mixture of concern as well as something else he wasn't telling you. This caused an uneasy feeling to settle in when you saw no trace of Gohan. 

“Trunks? Is my brother okay?”

You began an attempt to sit up on your own, but both the pain from your abdomen assaulted you when leaning against your broken wrist. You cried out from the asinine move and would have doubled over onto your side, had Trunks not wrapped an arm around you and held you close. 

“Stop—you shouldn't be trying to move around right now,” he reprimanded, due to your well-known tendency of stubbornness. 

You whimpered and your eyes tightly shut as you cradled the fractured wrist in between your breasts, sear pain continuing to gnaw viciously at both your arm and stomach. After what seemed to be moments of nothing but pain, it eventually subsided. You slowly allowed yourself to relax, your wrist resting on top of your stomach. Then, you inconsequently snuggled into the warmth, resting your head against it as one would a pillow. Trunks’ entire body stiffened from the sudden contact, and he glanced down to see your head resting against his chest. He gulped then shifted his eyes to the side. 

The sound of a heart beating loudly against your ear caused you to snap your eyes open...and realize how warm the ‘pillow’ was. Heat rushed to your face as you tentatively glanced back up at Trunks once again. He didn't say anything, his eyes hiding behind his lavender bangs. But the first thing you noticed, when your vision adjusted, was a crimson shade from his features as your faces were just inches away from one another.

You blinked out of the dazed state then quickly turned your head in the opposite direction, eventually gazing upon the rubble behind you. Then it finally hit you; everything prior to blacking out: wrist breaking, window smashing, blast whistling, and ground shaking leaked from your subconscious. Next there was a nameless woman covered in third-degree burns, a town of carnage, shrieks and a fire strongly blazing over the chilling scenery. 

The hair from the back of your neck bristled whilst your heart pounded inside your chest, clogging your ears. You tightly shut your eyes and curled into yourself, trembling. “No! Someone please make it stop!!!”

Trunks immediately looked down at you, alarmed by your sudden distress. Without a second thought, he tightly wrapped his arms around you while trying being careful not to make your injuries worse then attempted to call you back from whatever daunted you. 

“___, you need to calm down; moving right now will just make your injuries worse.” 

He felt the shaking of your frame against him violently increase while you tried to struggle out of his grasp. No matter what was said, Trunks couldn't get through to you. That was when he heard a small, sickening snap from your wrist, followed by a piercing scream from your lips. Then, without realizing what he was doing, Trunks quickly acted.

Suddenly, your cries were cut off by becoming muffled until they slowly died down due to something soft and warm pressing firmly against your lips. As your mind registered what was happening, your eyes widened and you gasped before trying to push away, but Trunks’ hand against your back pulled you closer, his lips remaining connected with yours.

The initial shock slowly faded, leaving a new emotion in its place. It was a strange mixture of feelings that began to stir within you; it scared you a little, but it also felt...nice.

Little by little, your muscles slowly eased. Your eyes softly closed then you hesitantly adjusted your lips, pressing lightly against his. Both Trunks’ lips and stomach jerked in response. You froze, eyelids stirring. Was he going push you away? But then, he too, hesitantly kissed back. His arms loosened a bit, but continued to hold you close. Heat swarmed your face and collided with the heat radiating off of his.

You then found an unknown source of confidence and slowly freed your hand out from his shoulder and found the back of his neck, leaning into the kiss as much as one with your injuries could. The kiss prolonged until your lungs began to ache. Due to the lack of air, you felt lightheaded and slowly parted before drifting out of consciousness, becoming limp in his arms. Trunks opened his eyes and took a moment for his breathing to return to normal and found your head resting against his chest.

“___!” 

Trunks breathed out a sigh of relief once he felt a pulse from the side of your neck. But relief was only short-lived, and a frown soon marred Trunks’ features. He then looked to the far right to an unconscious Gohan on the floor, whom he had to set down in order to dig you out. 

While thinking of a solution, the adolescent Saiyan looked back at you, and blushed before taking a deep breath and carefully picked you up, bridal style, and then stood up. Trunks walked, trying not to stagger, over to the form of his mentor. He slowly crouched down, with you still in his arms, and used his right hand to reach over to slowly turn Gohan, who lay on his stomach at the moment, over on his back. 

Trunks slid his right arm under Gohan’s back and turned him over on his stomach again then carefully lifted Gohan onto his back, hanging the older Saiyan’s arm over his shoulder then shifted the extra weight, so his wounded mentor wouldn’t slip off. The teen slowly got to his feet while being considerate of the multiple injuries inflicted upon his friends. 

Next, Trunks brushed aside the fact he was still blushing and gingerly wrapped his left arm around your waist to hold you up, causing your head to lean against his shoulder. He searched his mind for a distraction so your lips brushing against his neck wouldn't cause his knees to give out. He glanced ahead and gathered all of his willpower needed to get the three of you to safety... This was going to be a _long_ walk.

= = = = = = =

By the time Trunks reached West City, it was already dusk. Fatigued, but relieved to see the perimeter of Capsule Corp, Trunks began to advance another step, but stopped and shifted his eyes to you after you groaned, regaining consciousness.

“Where am I...? Ugh, my head...” You brought a hand up to your forehead due to the migraine. Once it went away, you tilted your head up and looked around once your vision allowed you to until they landed on a form black and orange. Your face paled and your mouth hung agape. 

“I'm sorry, ___…” said Trunks while avoiding your gaze. “He was already like this by the time I came to.” 

You whirled your attention to Trunks then pulled out of his arm. Everything seemed to spiral as you teetered back towards a nearby wall. Your gaze tilted up and met with Trunks’; crimson gradually dusted your cheeks, but you shook your head then fixated your attention to the suddenly fascinating sidewalk. 

“Why did you... You knew my brother was badly injured and didn’t tell me,” you remarked somberly.

Trunks’ blue eyes widened. “I’m sorry; please forgive me, ___… and…yeah…” he said softly, looking at the ground. A scarlet tint dusted across his face.

It would seem you weren’t the only one at a loss for words. Let’s face it, both of you were quite new to these mixed and strange emotions and didn’t know how to confront them. However, with everything else going on at the moment, that situation would have to be dealt with later. 

Trunks shook his head and changed the subject. “Your brother’s still alive...but we need to hurry and get him to my house.”

Then he glanced back after he saw a blur falling.

Once the pain took its toll from standing, you sank to your knees, cradling your bruised stomach with the other wrist. You breathed sharply and tightly shut your eyes, gritting your teeth and began to slowly force yourself up, intending to use the wall for support. 

However, that plan was eliminated as Trunks soon stood before you with his hand extended out. He had a look in his eyes that, without speaking, told you he wouldn't let you decline his help and walk in your current state. You hung your head in defeat and reluctantly accepted his outstretched hand. No sense in arguing when your only sibling is hanging between life and death, right? Within moments, you had wrapped your non-injured arm around the Saiyan Prince’s neck while leaning against him for support. You remained quiet for the rest of the walk, looking in every other direction to avoid eye contact with him while you had a feeling he was doing exactly the same.

= = = = = = = =

Bulma sat at her computer updating the blueprints for an invention she had started working on a couple of years back, hoping it would be the solution for changing history. She stopped briefly and looked over her shoulder after hearing a set of footsteps enter the lab.

“Who’s there?” she demanded, trying to remain calm when all she could make out were a pair of shadows. Both you and Trunks walked into the dimmed light of the computer screen illuminating the dark room. Bulma gasped, her eyes widened. “Trunks! ____! What happened?!” she asked, swiveling her chair around.

“To be blunt...we got beat up,” Trunks replied.

Still holding onto Trunks, you averted your gaze to the floor. Gohan grunted in pain when Trunks shifted the weight to prevent the former from slipping.

“Hurry and get him to a bed, Trunks! I'll call a doctor!” Bulma ordered after noticing Gohan's left arm was gone.

= = = = = = = =

_‘How am I supposed to explain this to Mom?’_ You looked down at your dominant wrist now wrapped in a brace and bandages around your upper arms and other wrist.

With your gi in the washer, Bulma had lent you a white over-sized shirt and gray sweatpants; your gloves were practically shredded beyond repair and were disposed of. Your gi had a few tears and Bulma was about to throw it out, but you implored her not to as it held sentimental values since it was a birthday gift from your brother for graduating from his training. Fortunately, she complied but that also meant she now knew about your training. 

You sat in a chair as Bulma continued to gingerly bandage your cranium and arms after removing the glass slivers and cleaning the blood off. 

Meanwhile, Trunks was in the next room assisting the doctor who saw to the critically injured Gohan. 

“It is highly imperative that he remains still,” the doctor explained, slipping on a pair of rubber gloves. “Unfortunately, since I’ve recently ran out of morphine, I’m afraid you’re going to have to restrain him as best you can.” 

Trunks nodded and slowly approached Gohan and did as he was told.

The doctor came to the other side with a pair of scissors, thread, and a needle. Wasting no time in getting to work, he began by snipping the bloodstained sleeve of where the left arm used to be. Trunks grimaced, forcing the rising bile from his stomach back down. 

After preparing his tools, the doctor told Trunks to get ready. The latter gave a curt nod as a drop of sweat trailed down the side of his face, and then the treatment began.

Just then, you could hear an agonizing scream coming from the next room. You tightly shut your eyes and clamped both hands over your ears, trying to drown the sound out. Bulma hadn't finished bandaging your head, but couldn’t bring herself to order you to lower your hands. 

There was no certainty of how long the procedure went on, but when it had finally ended, the double doors opened. 

You slowly lowered your hands after the screaming stopped then looked up to see the doctor murmuring something to Bulma, who nodded every couple of seconds. You saw Bulma nodding over to you just before the doctor looked passed her to acknowledge your presence. 

He smiled and came to your side and spoke up, “I must say that the three of you have a remarkably strong will to survive; it’s also a good thing your friend brought you all back for treatment when he did. You’ll be happy to know that your brother’s no longer in critical condition. He’s still unconscious, but if you wish to go into the next room to see him, you may.” 

With that said, he stepped to the side. You held onto your stomach before carefully scooting off the seat and ambling over to the next room.

Gohan lay in a bed with many bandages adorning his body and over the left side of his face. You were relieved not to find any equipment or the smell of blood, and sat in the chair next to Trunks. The lavender-haired male glanced over to the sound of you sinking into the chair beside him, but then quietly turned back to Gohan. 

An awkward silence ensued, leaving a pang in your chest. Trunks had always been there, accepted you and not once betrayed you. What was to become of your friendship with him now?

After Bulma had thanked the doctor, she came back. “So, you two just _happened_ to be going to Super World and coincidentally ran into Gohan while he was fighting the androids?” she asked, her back facing you and Trunks while putting both yours and Gohan’s gis in the laundry basket.

Both you and Trunks froze and exchanged a brief glance. Since the question was more directed towards him, Trunks turned to face her. 

“Life’s funny that way sometimes,” he replied.

Meanwhile, you did nothing but suppress a sigh, since doing so would've sent more pain to your abdomen. Trunks had never been a good liar and it wasn't your place to do anything else.

“So you _say_ , Trunks, dear,” Bulma replied with a ‘You can’t fool me’ look. “Don’t think I haven’t heard those recent rumors about Gohan training you.” 

It suddenly felt as if a cold knife pierced through your chest, causing you to avert your eyes to the floor. It wasn't Trunks’ fault, you _knew_ full well it was possible Chichi might find out any day about your training, but decided to go along with it anyway. Your mother was a close friend of Bulma’s, she wouldn’t withhold something like this from her.

All family matters were put aside once Gohan clutched the bed sheets while flinching from his fresh stitches. You, Trunks and Bulma hovered over him. 

“I don't understand, the doctor said he’d be out for a week!” Bulma said, concerned. 

Not wanting to see your brother suffer any longer, you glanced up at her and suggested, “Can’t we just give him a Senzu bean?” 

Bulma looked up to meet your gaze sympathetically. “I thought you already knew... The bag of Senzus he carries with him was already empty.” You stared blankly in shock. “There’s not much we can do now except allow him to rest. We’ll keep Gohan here while he recovers,” she offered then faced you. “It looks like you haven't recovered from your own injuries, why don't you stay for the night as well?”

You sighed, and then nodded.

= = = = = =

You yawned and glanced over towards the clock that read the digits 3:50 AM then sighed. Everyone else in the dome had gone off to bed, but you refused to retire for the night. You shook your head, fighting off the heavy urge to sleep.

There was suddenly a sound that resembled double doors sliding open, followed by footsteps entering the room. But you never turned around until they whispered, “I'll watch Gohan now, ___.” 

Glancing up with fatigued eyes, they met with a pair of cerulean belonging to Trunks.

Too drained to decline, you slowly shifted onto your side, and curled up into the chair and drifted fast asleep once your head lied against the armrest. 

Trunks glanced around the room, coming across a closet and quietly walking over to it. He opened the drawer and pulled out a spare blanket then walked back over and gently pulled it up to your chin. The blanket shifted as you curled up in it. A soft sigh left your lips, causing Trunks to gulp before quickly backing away. The last thing he’d want was for you to wake up and misunderstand why he was standing over you at a late hour. 

He sighed in relief; that was too close. Trunks turned around to turn off the light but before he flicked the switch off, he found himself taking one last glance at where you rested. He saw the blanket slowly rise and fall as you slept peacefully and found it hard to believe you were experiencing a nervous breakdown earlier, and if he hadn't done anything...

He stopped immediately, after feeling his face heat up. Trunks shook his head, brushing away this emotion he was still a stranger to and pulled up a chair across the room to sit in and watch over the friends he had almost lost.

\- - - - - - - -  
**_End of Ch. 11_**  


**(1)** I've read a few fan fics that describe Senzu beans as bitter-tasting (makes you want to try one, doesn't it? XD). 


	12. Easy Targets

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've included the silly little gag in the end notes. It's old, but I couldn't bring myself to delete it so I hope you enjoy it. XD

**__**

Chapter 12  
Easy Targets  
\- - - - - - -

You stirred before a yawn escaped the pit of your throat, eventually pulling you from your slumber. Light began to radiate through the broken window, which was a good thing in your case: it meant you didn’t have to open your eyes only to be blinded from the bright glare.

Bringing your hands up to your eyes, in favor of rubbing the sleep out of them, the feel of Velcro against your skin nearly startled you. Opening your eyes, the first thing you saw was the brace around your wrist and stared at it while lost deep in thought. _‘That’s right. I was arriving to help Gohan, and then that android…’_ Your eyes widened and all traces of sleep were dismissed. _‘Gohan! Trunks!’_

Kicking the blanket loose until it became easier to move, you sat upright and the blanket slid off your shoulder and down to your lap. But the sudden movement caused waves of sharp pain to emit from your stomach. You grunted and hunched over, clutching your stomach while gritting your teeth. 

After the pain eventually subsided, you slowly lifted your head as your eyes eventually fell upon the one who was the reason you weren’t laying in a ditch: Trunks. He remained asleep in his chair, undisturbed. Both arms folded over his chest and his head tilted sideways into the corner. A few bangs draped softly across his forehead and over his eyes.

You felt your stomach tighten as you struggled in searching for enough air needed to call out to him as well as the courage for what you wanted to bring up.

“ _Psst_ … Trunks?” you whispered, hoping not to wake your brother up. 

The younger Saiyan made no response. Rather than call out to him again, you figured he was just as exhausted, if not more and decided not to wake him.

_‘Did he actually stay up watching over Gohan and me?’_

Your eyes wandered down to the blanket around your waist and pulled the article up, wrapping it around your shoulders as you closed your eyes, smiling at the demi-Saiyan’s generosity. 

Snapping out of your thoughts, you blinked and shook your head. _‘What’s wrong with me? It’s official, ___: you’ve definitely lost it.’_ You tentatively glanced over towards Trunks’ sleeping form while trying your best to ignore the heat rising from your face as you tried to put up a convincing tough front. _‘This is all your fault, making me read too much into something like some overly-paranoid old lady!’_

Suddenly, the door opened and you turned to face it, startled.

“Oh, ___, I didn’t expect to see you up already,” said Bulma, entering the room. Resting the laundry basket she brought with her against her right hip, she pulled out your gi before handing it to you. “Here, I washed these for you; it’s a little torn, but nothing that sewing can’t fix.” 

“Thank you.” You smiled and placed the gi aside about to stand up to bow, but paused when Bulma raised a hand in front of her and smiled. 

“There’s no need to be so formal. Plus I don’t think bowing would be a good idea, considering you’re still recovering,” she explained then looked over to where Trunks and Gohan were. 

“Oh, right.” You grinned sheepishly then cleared your throat. “Have you…um,” your fingers began fidgeting with one of the corners from the blanket, “mentioned anything to my mom yet? About me going off to fight the androids?” 

Bulma shook her head and set the laundry basket down on the floor. “Though, to be honest, I called the house about an hour ago and it was your grandfather who answered. All I had told him was you that were here and safe. I figured he’s told your mom by now, but since I haven’t spoken with her, I don’t know what exact mood she’ll be in when she gets here.”

You hung your head and silently cursed. 

“But moving on, how does your wrist feel this morning?” she asked, motioning towards said appendage.

“It hasn’t gotten any better...” you replied, wincing once your wrist began to throb and cradled it to your chest. Bulma nodded thoughtfully.

“Wait here. I believe I have something that will help.”

= = = = = = =

After Bulma hurried back with some painkillers and a glass of water, she offered you a room to change in. She helped you to your feet up from the chair and walked halfway with you to the room adjoined with the infirmary, and then returned once you closed the door behind you. Upon re-entering, she glanced to the corner where her son stirred and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes before he slowly opened them.

“How are you feeling, son?” Bulma asked. 

Trunks lifted his head up then glanced to the empty chair across from him. He may have just recently woken up, but he _did_ recall you falling asleep there. “Mom, where’s ___?” 

Bulma pointed to the set of double doors, indicating that you had temporarily left the room. Within the time it took her to lower her forefinger, the doors slid open as you re-entered the room, wearing your gi.

“Too bad my gloves were ruined,” you murmured under your breath, unaware of the soft, shy smile from a certain demi-Saiyan. 

As soon as you looked up from the floor-tiles to ask Bulma something, your eyes widened in surprise, not realizing Trunks was now awake. 

The two of you suddenly found yourselves mirroring each other’s actions: as one of you tired to speak, the other opened their mouth at the same time and vice versa then staring at the floor in silence. You could feel your cheeks flush and your heart pounding faster as you had a pretty good idea that what he wanted to tell you was the same thing on your mind, but for some reason the effort as simple as even making eye contact seemed suddenly difficult. 

Meanwhile, Bulma observed the unusual silence between you and her son. It was far too early to tell what led to this, and asking one of you directly was probably not the best way to approach it either. Only time would tell. 

Just then, the doorbell rang repetitively causing both you and Trunks to look towards the door, startled.

“That’s probably your mom, ___,” Bulma said. 

You mentally groaned. _‘ **Great**. First Mom’s going to freak when she sees Gohan wrapped up like a mummy, and then chew me out for sneaking off and breaking my wrist.’_

Without speaking, you sank back into the chair, still recovering from the blow to your stomach. Even after taking the painkillers Bulma gave you, it would still be awhile before they’d fully take effect. 

Bulma glanced to where Gohan still lay, then to the door, then to you. “You know…on second thought, I think it would be best if you meet up with her outside the room,” she suggested. “So she doesn’t see your brother in this condition; for now, at least.”

You nodded in agreement then suddenly found your eyes meeting with Trunks’. Your face still felt heated and who could blame you? You were snapped out of your daze as Bulma’s hand on your back ushered you towards the door. “I’ll walk with you to the entrance,” she offered. 

Needless to say, there was no escaping the long lecture in your future.

**/Elsewhere/**

“Are you finished yet, 17?” asked 18, sitting on top of a turned-over truck. “We’ve killed every single human who’s driven by; how much longer do you insist on blasting at wrecked cars?”

She knew he was ignoring her, as usual. The female android sighed, rolled her eyes, and rested her chin on her palm. If their creator, Dr. Gero, was able to turn her brother and herself into androids, why didn’t he give 17 a new brain? At least one that actually worked! 

“Awe, come on now, Sis. Don’t tell me you’re _still_ mad about earlier,” 17 said after he finally stopped blasting the piles of wrecked cars. He then turned towards his twin. 

18 narrowed her eyes and jumped off the vehicle. She folded both arms over her chest and leaned against the side of the truck. “I’ve told you over and over, only to destroy the humans in the mall; _not_ the clothes!” 

17 smirked and walked over to join her. Unlike 18, he bent one leg back against the truck. “You forgot to say ‘Please’,” he told her mockingly. “Besides, why would destroying one mall be such a big deal?” 

18 glared harder. “You’re seriously starting to piss me off. Shut up.” She pulled out a somewhat burned newspaper article she took from the deceased truck driver, who had it on his lap before meeting his unfortunate end. “Read this.”

17 took the paper into his hands without question and slowly uncrumpled it. After skimming over it, he quietly chuckled and looked out into the distance. “Persistent little cockroaches...” 

18 opened one eye and glanced sideways to 17. “It was irritating enough having to deal with one and now there are three.” 

17 looked off in the desolated highway, crumbling the paper in one hand before he let it fall to the ground. “All we need to do is separate them before attacking. Our main target is that one named Gohan and with him injured, he’ll be helpless. Once he’s finished, there won’t be anyone else to stop us.”

18 opened her other eye. “What about those kids? Both of them survived.”

17 smirked as he closed his eyes and placed both hands in his pockets. “Hn. What _about_ them? They’re just a couple of kids playing super hero; they’re no threat.”

The duo walked off to the edge of the highway and flew off. On the ground lay the article that made the two decide this tactic so suddenly. It read: _**Super World Destroyed. Three Survivors Found.**_

\- - - - - - - - -  
**_End of Ch. 12_**  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> {Throws brick at writer’s block} Sorry this wasn’t one of the best chapters. But a lot of it will play out in upcoming chapters. I wanted to explain about what is on everyone’s mind. Plus I think the conversation between 17 and 18 was important. 
> 
> For this, I suddenly got the inspiration after reading one of **midnight fox** ’s note in her story, _**‘Crap! I didn’t know this was real!’**_
> 
> df: Cheers!!! I’m really glad to know a lot of readers are taking an interest in this story! {Sips sake}
> 
> Trunks: {Sweat drop} Uh, yeah. Don’t mind her… Wait a minute—you’re still a minor!
> 
> df: But this is a special occasion: all of my finals are done and this story has made it safely in to its first year. Yes, it was about a year ago that I started this story! Besides, wasn’t there something you wanted to _say_ to the reader?
> 
> Trunks: …Like what?
> 
> df: {Anime fall} Trunks…Y-you can’t be serious. How could you forget _that_ quickly?! {Points to Reader} She’s. Right. Over there.
> 
> Trunks: {Backs away slowly} Okay…? I still haven’t the slightest idea what you’re trying to say.
> 
> df: {Sly smirk while nudging him} Oh-ho-ho, you know what I’m talking about: that first kiss scene with the reader. {Wink} Go on, Trunks, tell her what you wanted to say ~! 
> 
> Trunks: {Blushes and clamps hand over my mouth} Okay! I think it’s time for me to head out! {Turns to Reader before flying off} Guess I’ll just see you next time. Later!
> 
> df: {Shakes head} Saiyans… Well, don’t worry about it he’ll tell you sooner or later. Just don’t forget to review! And thank you for bringing this story to it first year anniversary! {Waves and takes off on flying Nimbus}


	13. Friendship and Strong Bonds

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Many thanks to **A Dedicated Reader** for their review!

**__**

Chapter 13  
Friendship and Strong Bonds  
\- - - - - - - - - -

After recovering, the two demi-Saiyans resumed their training. They found a new location, near the outskirts of the city with plenty of open space for sparring, and so Trunks could power up without worrying about his ki waves causing damage to any fragile buildings and streets that weren’t already lying in piles of debris.

The young teen stood in the center as usual, waiting for Gohan to give the signal to come at him. When his master finally did, Trunks advanced forward. Gohan saw the first move would be to speed up and spin-kick, so he brought his arm up to his face and blocked the predicted attack. Trunks skidded back, gritting his teeth, before balling his right hand into a fist then pulling it back and aiming for Gohan's face, only to have his master easily block that as well.

“You’ll have to be much quicker than that, Trunks!” Gohan instructed, taking to the air. “Never allow the androids enough time to anticipate your next move!” 

Dust clouds parted as Trunks skidded to a halt. With his feet now inches off of the ground, he looked up just before blasting up into the air. Gohan held his palm out flat and gathered his ki to form a sphere. Trunks frowned in determination then moved with speed too fast for human eyes and appeared behind Gohan in the blink of an eye. Trunks quickly used this time to cup both hands into a double fist and raised them over his head, but the older Saiyan quickly twisted around and spun-kicked Trunks in the jaw, sending him plummeting towards the ground at an alarming rate.

Blood rushed to Trunks’ head as he fell faster and faster towards the earth, but he was far from throwing in the towel. Opening his eyes, the youth channeled his ki, turning himself upright, slowing himself from the fall. He succeeded, stopping within a few feet from the ground causing his ki to blow a ripple of dust. Trunks wiped his bottom lip and glanced down at his hand to see a smudge of blood.

“Giving up yet?” Gohan shouted from above.

Trunks clenched his fists and blasted back up into the sky. Upon arrival, he saw another kick headed his way and quickly crossed both arms in front of his face to block it. Trunks quickly used this time while he was still in close range to deliver a swift uppercut to Gohan’s jaw, causing the elder Saiyan to pull back. The two stared each other down before Gohan wiped the line of blood trickling down his bottom lip then smirked. Both demi-Saiyans advanced forward and met halfway, where they locked into another round of fierce sparring.

= = = = = =

“How am I supposed to beat a Super Saiyan?” Trunks murmured, crouching to his knees near a stream. He glanced down at his reflection and saw the clotted blood on his lower lip. The young teen dipped his hands into the stream and splashed the cool water onto his face.

From where he stood, Gohan could see the frustration marring his pupil’s features. Both Saiyans knew they’d have to use whatever amount of time was still on their side for Trunks to transform. This, of course, meant more intense training from dawn until dusk. When the two weren’t eating or sleeping, they trained. Sometimes the training continued to the point where Trunks hardly had enough strength left to fly back home afterwards. But it was the Saiyan blood in his veins that made Trunks want to keep going on in determination to surpass his limits, just like his father. 

“You’re becoming stronger every time we spar, Trunks,” Gohan commented, walking over to him. “Pretty soon you’ll have surpassed me.” 

Trunks’ eyes widened. “Y-you really think so?” But then he paused as doubt settled in. “Is that even possible when I still haven’t transformed?” 

“I wouldn’t be saying it if it weren’t true; besides, you’re a lot stronger than I was at your age,” the elder Saiyan looked off into the distance. “Also, I didn’t get a chance to say this before but I appreciate you saving my sister.” 

Dark shades of crimson dusted over Trunks’ cheeks. “Oh, sure, n-no problem,” he replied, trying not to sound embarrassed then stared back at the ground, slipping both hands in his pockets. 

Ever since the incident at Super World, training seemed rather difficult for Trunks. Sure, he was concerned for your safety ever since you left and hadn’t heard from you in a while, but his actions to stop you from going into complete shock wouldn’t leave his mind. But what dawned on him right then and there was that he could have removed his lips from yours anytime after the shock wore off, but…he didn’t. 

Just then, Gohan spoke up, or rather had been while Trunks was busy in his train of thoughts. The youth faced his master. “Huh? Oh, sorry.”

Gohan shook his head slightly. “I was just saying before we left this morning, your mom requested that we’d finish up a little early; she’s invited both my mom and sister over for dinner. So before we head back, how about giving another shot at turning Super Saiyan?” 

Trunks nodded then took a deep breath for what he was about to ask, knowing there may not—if there ever would—be a better time. “Gohan…there’s something that I wanted to ask you.” The youth paused, contemplating the best way to word his inquiry. “Well, I know ___ wasn’t able to go out for a while and you went over there to check up on her recently…” During this, Trunks kicked a branch into the stream, causing a fish to jump briefly. “I was just wondering how she’s doing.”

Gohan nodded. “She’s doing fine. She had asked about you too, seemed like she had something important to tell you.”

It was pretty obvious what you wanted to talk to Trunks about, but how was he to know if whether or not you were mad at him? The two of you were practically inseparable growing up. There may have been an occasion the two of you would fight, but those quarrels never lasted. But then again, compared to this, those were nothing but trivial matters.

**/With You/**

Upon reaching your house, you floated down as the dome came into better view. With your hand not placed in a cast, you reached for the doorknob.

“Hey, I’m ba—” 

Suddenly, the door swung open and would have made contact with your face, had you not withdrawn your hand and jumped back at the last second. 

“Uh, Mom?” you asked with a shocked expression.

“Oh my. Sorry about that, Dear. I didn’t see you there,” Chichi confessed, hand over chest after being taken back a bit.

_‘You **could’ve** looked out the window first, or something...’_ you thought, but quickly dismissed it. 

As far as your punishment for sneaking out and worrying your mom, Chichi did lecture, or rather, yell in your ears the entire ride home. You were also grounded until the cast was removed and your training was officially over. So now, your wrist was still in the process of mending…but not being allowed to train, now that was something else. Sure, it was better that she was now aware of your ability to fly so you no longer had to walk everywhere.

You were about to ask her something but as if reading your mind, she immediately answered, “Bulma has invited us over for the evening so just for today, you’re off the hook.” Chichi folded her arms over her chest. “ _But_ I am going to have a word with your brother once we get there.” She turned and began walking towards the back of the house.

Just then, your eyes widened in shock. “No, Mom! Wait!” you yelled while still running to catch up. “Gohan’s not the one to blame! _I_ was the one who asked him to train me!”

Chichi stopped in her tracks to silence you with her trademark glare. “Your brother knew that I didn’t want you growing up to be a fighter!” 

“So, you’re saying that you decided my future before I was even old enough to have any say in it?!” you snapped, clenching your fist at your side tightly.

“I’m _saying_ that it’s my responsibility to decide what I think is best for you, and fighting isn’t going to get you a job or into a good school.” 

“Mom, I’m not perfect, so I can’t avoid making mistakes here and there. Okay, I’ll admit I acted without thinking and got injured…but I don’t train just for the sake of proving myself or to join some gang. Now that I’ve witnessed first-hand what these androids are capable of, I don’t want Gohan or Trunks to be another one of their victims!” Out of anger you blurted out the next thing to come to your mind, “I may not remember Dad, but I doubt he would’ve just stood idly by if—”

Suddenly, a swift, powerful smack struck you across your face. Head to the side, you stood stunned for a moment before tenderly raising your hand to touch your now stinging cheek, and saw Chichi standing before you. Her hand remained unmoved across her neck during this time. 

“I’m sorry, Mom…I didn’t mean—”

“That’s enough! My Goku may have been the world’s strongest fighter, but he had more experience in battles throughout his life and was in a league of his own. You had almost gotten yourself killed after just _one_ battle; and I don’t even want to think about would’ve happened to you if Trunks hadn’t found you when he did! Now, we are going to head over to Bulma’s and have a nice evening, and I don’t want to hear another word of this. Is that clear?”

You clenched your jaw and inhaled a deep breath before nodding reluctantly.

With that and nothing more to say, the angered Chichi turned and walked towards the hover car. 

Your cheek throbbed as you kept your eyes averted toward the ground angrily. _‘She’s wrong! How am I supposed to just let Trunks and Gohan fight the androids by themselves? They might need my help again and I **want** to be there! You would’ve done the same… Right, Dad?’_

But at least going over to Capsule Corp meant finally clearing up any misunderstandings with Trunks. If anything, you wanted to see him.

Suddenly, the car’s roaring engine snapped you out of your thoughts. After shoving both hands inside the pockets of your jacket, you kicked a pebble by your foot. “Alright, alright. I’m coming…”

= = = = = =

Trunks stood in the middle of the field, hands balled up into tight fists. The wind blew and the grass swayed as a result of his ascending ki wave. It shouldn’t have been hard to master the dormant power within him. After all, both 17 and 18 corrupted the world he was born into, and for what? For entertainment! Satisfaction from seeing the look of terror etched on faces of their victims. On top of that both you and Gohan got hurt—almost killed!

As he dwelled on these thoughts, both his ki and hair spiked, the latter flapping wildly. 

“That’s it, Trunks! You’re doing it!” were the encouraging words from Gohan. 

Trunks listened to the words of his sensei and continued to concentrate. Something inside of him was close to awaking and as long as he maintained control, he would be able to harness it and transform. He was almost there. He could feel it!

“The androids; they’re killers, Trunks! They’ll destroy me, your mother, ___ and you!” 

Right as Gohan said your name, a significant amount of ki spiked through Trunks; his eyes flashed from blue to teal-green and his white ki flared to a golden yellow. He’d never forget the look of sheer panic from your eyes nor that scream. But try hard as he might, the transformation didn’t transpire. It felt as if his power taunted Trunks, leaving him to sink to his knees and inhale air for his lungs. In between breaths, Trunks growled and his hands pulled on the blades of grass. He was close; so close. Damnit! 

From the sidelines, Gohan observed Trunks’ behavior in silence. Sure, first transformations weren’t an easy thing, but there seemed to be something else; Trunks rarely displayed this much frustration. Come to think of it, you seemed to have been acting differently since Super World… 

“Why don’t we call it a day, Trunks?” 

As he rose to his feet, Trunks stared at his hands that now trembled from anger. As soon as Gohan noticed this he suggested flying around the outskirts, hoping this would use up the extra adrenaline until Trunks had calmed down enough to head back.

= = = = = =

“Alright, we’re here,” Chichi announced, trying to sound cheerful despite the feud the two of you had.

The drive up to West City was rather quiet. But after the argument, that was no surprise. You were, however, surprised that there wasn’t much traffic with drivers speeding by in hopes of finding this so-called safe place from the androids. But there had been no sign of said terror, and even if there were you’d do everything you could to interfere with their plans in a heartbeat. 

_‘Guess there’s still some safe underground routes out there, not that I’d solely rely on them.’_

“___,” Chichi called out. “We’re here.”

You shook your head. “Coming.” 

After Chichi knocked on the door, you heard footsteps coming the other side, and Bulma opening the front door. 

“Hi, Chichi, ___. Glad you both could make it!” she replied as soon as you stepped to the side, coming into view. 

Despite the fact your cheek still stung, you returned the smile while still trying to keep your swollen cheek unnoticed. Luckily, it seemed to work.

Bulma invited both you and Chichi inside and asked you how school was. After answering, you let your mom and Bulma talk, while you walked into the hallway, eventually to the stairway.

“Sorry, ___, but Trunks hasn’t returned yet.” 

You whirled around and saw Bulma walking over to you. “Oh, um, that’s alright,” you replied, waving your hands dismissively. “I was…just looking for the bathroom.” 

Okay, something was up. Bulma simply nodded and pointed to the other end of the hallway. “You know the bathroom’s that way.” 

You began heading towards the hallway, while the blue-haired woman merely nodded. “Ah-ha.” 

“What is it, Bulma?” Chichi asked, entering the hallway. Bulma handed her a glass and motioned to the room across.

“Let’s head into the kitchen first, I’ll explain there.”

**/Meanwhile/**

“Man, I can’t believe myself—what a **joke**!” Trunks growled, throwing a rock down the cliff, barely missing a gecko climbing up. He listened to everything Gohan had told him, trained hard, felt the rage and anger of the lives lost flow through him, but it wasn’t enough! He just had to know what his flaw was. “You’re my master, Gohan. You can tell me, why can’t I do it?”

Gohan looked at him. “You can, Trunks. Believe me, it was hard for me too; it’s not just a matter of anger, you also need to find the right motivation.” Now that his student gave him his full attention, Gohan continued, “For me, all I have to do is think of how the androids killed Piccolo and Krillin. Then I feel a horrible hurt and the pain from that turns into rage…” 

Trunks kept silent. Would that mean a person close to him was to be sacrificed to trigger his transformation as well? 

“Trunks?” Trunks shot his attention towards Gohan. “We should probably start heading back.” 

Without warning, a massive explosion ruptured from the city beneath them. 

Right after the explosion, Gohan powered up to Super Saiyan. Trunks insisted on going too, but Gohan wouldn’t hear of it. The young teen pleaded, promising not to be a burden. It just wasn’t right, letting his master fight solo and with only one arm! Gohan could see the determination burn strongly in the pair of the blue-eyed demi-Saiyan, and should he say yes, Trunks would fight alongside him regardless if they’d make it out of there at all. The decision was made. 

Gohan smiled understandingly. “Alright, Trunks, you win. Let’s go get ‘em!”

Trunks nodded. “Right!” 

Just before he could power up, Trunks’ eyes involuntarily rolled back and everything faded to black. 

Gohan caught the teen by the collar of his shirt before he hit the ground and set him down on the rock. Knocking Trunks out was the only way to insure he wouldn’t charge in only to be finished off by the androids. Though not saying it out loud, Gohan was very proud of his two pupils. Even if he didn’t survive this, there were still two teens he had trained, who would continue to grow stronger and whatever differences you and Trunks seemed to have towards each other at the moment would be resolved. Then, maybe someday, the both of you would put an end to this nightmare. 

“See you later, Kid,” Gohan whispered before flying off towards the battleground.

\- - - - - - - - - -  
 ** _End of Ch. 13_**  



	14. Gain, Yet Loss

**__**

Chapter 14  
Gain, Yet Loss  
\- - - - - - - - - - -

17 continued to blast buildings that survived the first explosion. He would’ve been more entertained if 18 weren’t continually nagging him about heading to another city. With their constant reign of terror, there’d eventually be no more humans left or any cities to destroy; this just made it all the more reason for 17 to make the most out of it while he still could.

“All the humans are dead, the fun part’s over!” 18 bitched from the pile of rubble of which she sat. “I don’t want to sit around and watch you shoot buildings all day, it’s boring!”

And this was coming from the same android who referred to him as annoying…

“Boring?! This isn’t boring!” 17 retorted. He stopped blasting and rested both hands on his hips, his back remaining faced to 18. “Boring is when I stand around while you try on clothes for two hours— _that’s_ boring!” He then resumed blasting the tall buildings.

Why should he care if she was bored? It’s not like he was forcing her to stick around. Why didn’t 18 just use this time get her clothes shopping done?

“The things that I put up with…” 18 sighed as she watched her rebellious brother continue to wreck one building after another.

Meanwhile, a nearby injured civilian managed to free his hands from the piles of rubble he had been trapped under and slowly began to climb out.

“I swear he’s like a little kid,” 18 thought aloud. Though it would appear she hadn’t noticed, the female android reached around aiming with her left index finger, and without as much of a glance, unleashed blast to finish the wounded survivor off. “Hey, we missed one!” she stated, the dust and wind whipping her blond hair across her face.

The androids were playing a game: the object was to see how many humans and buildings they could each destroy before Gohan’s arrival.

17 smirked. “That’s ten more points. Awe, now we’re tied!”

Suddenly, a faint sound of someone flying in at incredible speed piqued 17’s interest. That is, until he felt himself being kicked into a pile of rubble. 17 sat upright, unharmed and now upset at whoever was responsible for this. His clothes, however, were not as sturdy; his favorite black shirt was almost torn off of his white long sleeved underneath, his jeans had a tear above the left knee.

“Your shirt, it’s torn!” 18 laughed, stating the obvious.

The dark-haired android threw the heavy rubble off of him then got to his feet, glaring at Gohan who landed in front of him.

“I’m glad you came, though,” 17 stated calmly. “Yeah, this is perfect.” An eerie smirk tilted his lips. 18 landed on the other side, as they both had done the first time they fought the demi-Saiyan. Only this time, they’d make sure he wouldn’t escape. “You can be our _tie-breaker_.”

Gohan took his fighter stance, glaring angrily.

“It’s sudden death, no ties,” 18 stated. 

17 began to calmly advance towards the Super Saiyan.

“Even if you manage to kill me, someone even stronger will surface and take my place!” Gohan yelled, his eyes continually watching the twins in case one planned on catching him off guard from behind while the other continued to advance forward.

“How sad; seems you still haven’t learned anything from putting too much faith in mediocre fighters,” 18 commented in a calm, yet eerie tone. “Once we finish you, it’s only a matter of time before we destroy those brats. Just give up.”

Gohan’s brows knitted together, his ki flaring with rage. “Never.”

17 calmly shrugged. “Your call.” 

Both he and 18 bent their knees and charged forward. Gohan quickly gathered a ki ball to his hand and threw it to the ground, flying towards the top of the remains of a building with 17 and 18 both pursuing closely behind.

**/Meanwhile/**

Now in the kitchen, Chichi sat across from Bulma. “So, what was it you wanted to tell me?”

Bulma pulled out the chair in front of her so she would be able to sit down in it. “Well, I didn’t want to jump to conclusions without being sure first; let me ask you something: Has ___ seem different lately?” she whispered before taking a sip of her drink, waiting for the slightly younger woman’s answer. 

Chichi pursed her lips while staring at her reflection in the drink Bulma had offered her.

The more Chichi thought about it, the more she recalled finding you laying on your bed staring up at the ceiling with a spaced out expression, or staring at the phone as if struggling in between the decision if whether or not to call someone. Whenever she’d ask what was wrong, it looked like you were suppressing a blush before saying it was nothing.

“Well, now that you mention it, she has been. When Gohan came by recently to visit, she seemed suddenly alert when he mentioned Trunks’ name.”

Bulma quickly looked over her shoulder before turning back and leaned forward slightly. “My son’s been awfully quiet, more than usual. I mean, he always has been, but after hearing your story, I may have an idea what it is. Chichi, what would you say…if I told you that both ___ and Trunks have a crush on each other?” 

“What?!” Chichi asked, choking on her drink. “___ and Trunks?!”

Just then, you made your way into the kitchen due to hearing whispers of a hushed conversation and coughing coming from the other side. “Mom, are you okay?” 

Both Chichi and Bulma turned toward you. Chichi quickly cleared her throat before speaking up, “I’m fine; we were just catching up.” Bulma nodded. “Care to join us?”

You raised an incredulous brow. “Uh, no thanks,” you replied then turned to leave the room after telling them you would be waiting outside for Trunks and Gohan. You really weren’t interested in any of this girl talk.

Bulma quietly chuckled to herself. “Still quite the tomboy, as ever.”

You stepped outside and looked up at the sky, hoping to see the two Saiyans returning, but saw clouds drifting lazily across the sky instead. _‘It sure is taking them long to return,’_ you thought before sighing. _‘Wonder if they even knew Mom and I were coming.’_

Ever since you last saw Trunks, you couldn’t help but feel he was purposefully avoiding you. There was no point in denying that your first kiss had happened…and that you enjoyed it. At the same time, however, that’s what worried you: what if Trunks had just been caught up in the moment and only regarded you as a friend?

You froze, feeling an unfamiliar, horrible pang in your chest at that thought. Moisture began to well up behind your eyes. _‘That thought…it hurts…why?’_ You shook it off then wiped your eyes, still not used to feeling things that confused you.

You sighed and quickly thought of things to preoccupy yourself with. Seeing both ends of the streets were empty, you sat down on the front porch and held out your hand, forming three tiny ki spheres then began to slowly rotate them around in your palm **(1)**.

Suddenly, a ki signal jolted through the back of your skull like a static shock and you instantly stopped what you were doing and sprung to your feet, clenching your fists.

_‘Whoa! I can feel Gohan’s ki from here, but I don’t feel Trunks’…’_ you gasped, eyes widened.

You blasted off before hearing the faint sound that resembled a door flinging open and your mom yelling. But you could barely make out the words and continued onward.

“___ ___ Son **(2)**! You come back here this instant, Young Lady!!!” Chichi yelled. 

Bulma watched as your form disappeared from view before she placed a hand on her friend’s shoulder. “Chichi, she’s gone. There’s nothing either of us can do about it now.” When Chichi calmed down, somewhat, Bulma continued, “I may not be an expert at this sensing energy ordeal, but I know that androids don’t have power levels.” 

“What in the world are you _saying_?! Even if those things don’t have power levels, they’re still dangerous! We have to go after her in your aircraft!” 

Bulma shook her head. “I’m afraid I had to take a lot of my father’s inventions apart for spare parts to build something very important and, unfortunately, the aircraft was one of them. Besides, we’d never catch up to her at this rate. But I have a feeling she’ll be alright. Think about it: if ___ is sensing someone’s ki right now, it can only be Trunks’ or Gohan’s. She’ll likely run in to at least one of them along the way, and I assure you that Trunks will do everything he can to make sure no harm comes to her.

“I haven’t had a chance to tell you this yet, but when I saw Trunks carrying ___ back from Super World, he seemed rather reluctant to leave her side. He didn’t say that of course, but I could still tell. Then the following day, both he and ___ seemed like they wanted to tell the other something but it was like neither could think of anything. I guess when you look at it, they were already such close friends as kids that neither of them expected their friendship to become something more. All we can do now is hope they’ll work together and work things out.”

Chichi nodded. “I suppose you’re right.”

= = = = = = =

During the fight, thunder clashed in the sky and a bolt of lightning smashed a window from a nearby tall building. Droplets of rain began to string the ground. The android twins approached the Super Saiyan then briefly glanced amongst themselves, 18 nodded curtly.

“This thunderstorm is a perfect background for your demise,” 17 said. They both turned to silence once more while 18 slowly sidestepped until she was behind 17. Gohan tensed, unsure of what they were planning but stayed on guard.

His answer was quickly received once both androids charged forward until they were in close range before splitting in two. Gohan quickly dodged 17’s elbow then jumped and spun-kicked his jaw, but 18 quickly threw her fist forward and hit the demi-Saiyan. Both androids ganged up on him, side-by-side. They punched and kicked Gohan from left to right, forcing him with nowhere to go but back.

17, once seeing the opportunity, crouched down and swiftly spun-kicked Gohan’s foot, causing the demi-Saiyan to nearly loose his balance. Gohan quickly glanced over his shoulder to discover they had somehow cornered him in a dead-end. How could he have not seen this? That was one of the oldest traps and he fell right into it!

There was only one option left and as much as he hated to admit it, there was no other way out. Gohan turned and bolted in retreat and flew up, in search for temporary refuge.

“Finish what you’ve started, Coward,” 18 chided. She and 17 took off and pursued in the flight.

The twins simultaneously shot out a beam that flew past Gohan but collided, leaving a thick coat of smoke in the Saiyan’s wake, leaving him with just barely enough time to shield his eyes. 17 and 18 wasted no time once everything fell perfectly into plan. The two advanced forward and shoulder-rammed Gohan against the wall, leaving him stunned.

Both androids smirked and floated up, creating the distance needed to finish him off. 

“Die,” 17 and 18 whispered in unison.

Both lowered their hands, palms facing down and unleashed a hail of blasts, hitting Gohan relentlessly. A cry tore from the demi-Saiyan’s throat from the immense pain that continued to engulf him. But 17 and 18 continued their attack, neither showing the slightest signs of stopping any time soon.

Gohan continued to scream in pain, only to be drowned out by a massive explosion.

An eerie silence ensued.

= = = = = = =

The ki signal you sensed suddenly dropped to nothing. You gasped and stopped, your eyes widened and your face paled. With your brother’s ki signal gone and massive rain heading your way, it’d be nearly impossible to find him.

You fiercely shook your head before continuing in the same direction, flying faster than you could ever recall. _‘Just hold on, you guys!’_

Out of the corner of your eye, a blur of blue and lavender on the cliff below gripped your attention. You stopped abruptly, causing your hair to whip past your eyes. You immediately recognized who it was.

“Trunks!!!” you cried. Swooping down, you touched down and rushed over to his side. _‘Who did this to him, and why isn’t Gohan here?!’_

You glanced to the city ahead of you due to the startling rumble of thunder. You had always been fascinated with thunderstorms, but something about this one left an eerie feeling to it.

_‘I want to find my brother and what’s going on here,’_ you thought, looking out to what was left of the city then back to the unconscious teen. _‘But I can’t just abandon Trunks!’_

You rested one hand on his back and gently shook him. “…Trunks?” 

There was no response, so you took a deep breath and shook a bit harder. 

“Hey, c-come on now, this isn’t funny.” 

No matter how hard you struggled to remain calm, your now trembling hands betrayed you. 

“Trunks, please!”

You clenched your teeth then gripped onto one of his long sleeves, and slowly lowered your head and rested it against his back. _‘Don’t leave me!’_

Just then, you felt a light groan under you. Startled, you scrambled to your feet and backed away then used this time to sigh in relief. _‘He’s okay. Thank Kami.’_

Trunks groaned as his eyes prepared to open and he slowly got to his feet. You watched in silence as he held a hand to his forehead, as if trying to recall everything that happened prior to being knocked out. The lavender-haired Saiyan suddenly tensed, eyes widened as he removed the hand over his eye and stared down towards the destroyed city.

Trunks let out an aggravated growl. “Darnit, Gohan—why’d you go alone?!”

Then he froze and slowly turned around to discover you standing directly behind him. Your gaze stared directly at him. Your eyes stared into his blue and his blue into your own just moments before you both broke the stare and focused on the ground. There it was again, the same awkward silence you had felt swarming the two of you from before. Trunks clenched his fists and turned so his back faced now you. If he hadn’t done so right then, you would have seen a deep red blush on his face.

“Try not to worry, ___. I’m going down there right now to look for him.” He lowered his head and bent his knees slightly. “So…you can go back to Capsule Corp. now.” 

But despite his luck, a sudden resistance enclosed around his wrist, anchoring him from departure. He froze, but made no effort to face you or remove your hand.

“Wait! Please tell me what’s going on here, Trunks! Why can’t Gohan’s ki be sensed right now? Why were you lying here unconscious? Does this have to do the androids?!” you bombarded, due to being in such an upset and confused state.

Trunks kept his head lowered and he tightly shut his eyes. Heat rose up from his face from hearing concern for him from your voice. But talking with you had to be put on hold once more. He opened his eyes and turned toward you. “Look, I don’t have all of the answers; which is why I need to go down there and find out,” he then began gently prying your fingers loose. “But no matter what, promise you’ll go back, ___.” 

You opened your mouth to protest, but he promptly cut you off. 

“___, please… The rain would just ruin for your cast anyway. Just trust me on this.”

You felt another horrible pang in your chest. Even though he had made a valid point about your injured wrist, he was still avoiding you. Swallowing the lump in your throat, you nodded and tried to cover up the hurt in your eyes by looking to the side. “I promise. Please be careful out there, Trunks.”

With your eyes looking in the other direction, you didn’t see Trunks’ eyes flash with a mixture of shock for the fact you hoped for his safety, and guilt from catching a glimpse of hurt behind your eyes just before you looked away. “Deal...” he whispered, hanging his head.

With that said, he flew towards the city. You stole one last glance just before he vanished from view, and then took off in the opposite direction.

= = = = = = =

In no time, what started off as light rain turned into heavy pouring, making the search for Gohan more difficult. But Trunks wouldn’t turn back. He couldn’t, not after promising you and himself that he would find your brother.

Trunks continued flying through every block and turning at each corner. There was no way of knowing how long he was knocked out, which alone added to the problem in searching for someone who’s ki who couldn’t be sensed at the moment.

As time went on with no luck, Trunks became frantic, until he finally found him. He lowered himself to the ground, shocked at what he saw. It was no mirage; Gohan lied on the ground in the middle of the street while the rain continued pattering on him, but something was wrong…he wasn’t moving.

“No, no, no!” Trunks whispered repeatedly, wanting for this to be nothing more than a nightmare and to wake up at that instant… But he couldn’t. Tears began streaming from his eyes, mingling in with the rain. He walked towards the figure on the ground.

Gohan lay there, face down in a pothole filled with rainwater. He was covered in cuts and bruises all over. No breathing, no shivering from the freezing rain. Just still. His eyes, though open, held no trace of life in them nor would they ever again.

“What did they do to you, Gohan?!” Trunks choked on his tears. “This just _isn’t_ fair!” 

Trunks unfroze from the shock and knelt down then lifted Gohan’s head up from the puddle, letting their foreheads touch. He was a master, a friend and was even considered a brother. But now, he was gone. 

“GOHAAAN!!!” 

Trunks abruptly stood to his feet. More tears streamed down his face as his hands clutched either side of his head, shaking violently as he began screaming filled with hurt and rage. Rain continued to fall from the sky above, as if crying along. Trunks’ hands balled up tightly into fists, causing his fingernails to bite into the flesh of his palms and blood to flow down and mingle in with the rain.

As his power continued expanding rapidly, the dam suddenly broke and a golden aura of ki flared up, surrounding him. It was a feeling he never experienced before. Trunks’ eyes snapped open they changed from blue to teal green. At last, the power of a Super Saiyan awakened within him.

With his bleeding palms still tightly balled up, the new Super Saiyan sank to his knees. Still screaming in anger, Trunks raised both fists over his head and slammed them down onto the street, causing it to crumble from the giant wave of energy he was releasing.

= = = = = = =

The next day, a small funeral was held close to the Son's house; it seemed the most appropriate place. The rain had let up slightly, but no one had bothered with bringing umbrellas to protect them from the still-falling rain. Only the Son’s and Briefs’ attended, though no one uttered a word; too shocked and hurt from the sudden loss to give a eulogy.

Trunks quietly glanced around for a brief moment and saw everyone mourning in their own way: his mom, standing beside him, hung her head and kept her eyes closed, occasionally bringing the handkerchief she was holding up to her nose, sniffling.

Chichi covered her eyes with both hands as she sobbed while Ox King rested one comforting hand on her shoulder while holding the other arm across his eyes.

Then there was you: head lowered, hand balled into fists at your sides, shoulders trembled involuntarily, indicating you were fighting against the tears.

By the time anyone even cared to notice what time it was, the sun had just gone down and night started to set in. There was nothing else to do, but quietly place flowers on the grave and say their final goodbyes. Only one stayed behind.

“Mom?” Trunks whispered.

Bulma stopped to the sound of her son’s voice and turned to face him. “Yes?”

“I…I would like to stay for a while longer.”

Bulma glanced up at the hilltop, noticing another figure standing beside the grave and nodded. “I understand,” she whispered.

Trunks turned around to see you still standing over the grave.

“Why did Gohan have to die?” you whispered, still shocked from the fact your only sibling was gone. You fiercely wiped your eyes while continuing to stare at the grave. “Damn androids! I want my brother back!”

Trunks remained silent and walked up until he stood beside you, also staring at the grave. “I’m so sorry, ___,” he whispered. 

You lifted your head and slowly looked at him. 

“I was there, but couldn’t stop him. It’s my fault that…that Gohan is…”

That sentence was best left unfinished.

Eyes staring at the ground again, you slowly walked over to him and took one of his hands and turned it right side up. With two fingers, you lightly traced over the crescent-shaped cuts. Trunks watched in confusion, but made no effort to speak or take his hand back. After a few minutes, you finally looked up at him with teary eyes. Being too emotional over the loss of your brother, you didn't fight the urge to reach out and pull Trunks into a hug.

“I overheard your mom saying that your hands were bleeding pretty badly when you became a Super Saiyan,” you whispered in a muffle against his attire. Trunks looked down and saw your face now buried in his chest, he felt you continuing to tremble involuntarily. “I…I’m still unable to transform, Trunks,” your eyes began sparkling with tears that threatened them. “But I don’t want to become a Super Saiyan if it means losing you, too!” 

The teenaged male took in a sharp breath then hesitantly wrapped his arms around you, hoping it would help, but knew there was still a chance you might reject it. Then the friendship between the two of you would truly be over.

It was your turn to freeze before opening both eyes and saw two comforting arms holding you then looked up and saw Trunks looking at you, his eyes full sadness. “I’ve been a real lousy friend to you lately, haven’t I? If you’re mad or…hate me, I’ll understand.”

You shook your head. “I have never, ever hated you.”

Trunks’ eyes widened. “Y-you’re not mad at me?” 

You shook your head again then sighed shakily, waiting for him to release you; but he didn’t.

You suddenly felt your cheeks flush when Trunks unexpectedly, yet tentatively, brushed a tear away from your eyes with his thumb before pulling you closer.

“It’s alright,” Trunks said shyly. “Just let it out.”

You blinked and stared into his eyes. 

“Gohan wouldn’t have wanted you to hold it in. So until the time comes to fight the androids…use the time to let any sadness out.” 

Those words were more than enough. Within another blink, tears began to sting your eyes. You buried your face in the crook of Trunks’ neck as the hot, salty tears emerged. As the pain of loss became more clear and real, you let it out in wails of despair. Trunks’ soft hand started stroking your hair in a soothing manner as he held you, hugging you tightly as he buried his head in the crook of your neck and his tears began flowing. 

Trunks knew it would now be up to him to hone his new power and use it to protect you, and others, in Gohan’s place.

\- - - - - - - -  
 ** _End of Ch. 14_**  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **(1)** So no one is confused, the reader was using the ki spheres like Baoding Balls. They’re these mini spheres you place in your hand and are supposed to turn them with your fingers. Here’s a site with more info. http://www.baodingballs.com/#about
> 
> **(2)** In case you’re wondering, the second blank is for inserting your middle name; if you don’t have one then feel free to ignore it.


	15. Second Chances

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Many Thanks:**
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> CreepyBear  
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> Your Dedicated Reader
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> Sorry for the long wait readers. I've been busy with work and home life and while this story is technically completed, I still wanted to revise some things to not only help the story flow better but also make the relationship between Reader and Trunks feel more believable. So hopefully this and the final chapter delivers that. Also, thanks to **Your Dedicated Reader** for informing me of the typos. I'll go back and fix them but do feel free to point them out if there's any that I've missed in the meantime. With that said, I hope you guys enjoy your update! :)

_Ages_

You: 16

Trunks: 17

  
**_Chapter 15  
Second Chances_**  
\- - - - - - - - - -

Chichi stepped outside the house wiping her hands with her apron, about to call you in for dinner. Just before she could, however, you swooped down in front of her, holding a large fish by the tail over your shoulder. 

“I caught him before he could swim away. He sure put up quite a fight, though,” you told her, one hand behind your head and Son-grinning.

After recovering from being taken aback, Chichi looked at the giant fish then back to you, noticing algae and mud caked over your clothes, skin and even your hair. If not used to the sight of both her late husband and son returning home in the same fashion after catching a fish, she probably would’ve inherited a look of disgust. 

“Very nice catch, ___. This ought to last us for a while, but now you’re covered from head to toe in filth and what about your homework?” she inquired.

You cringed inwardly when asked about homework then held out a lock of hair over your eyes. You released the lock as mud began dripping in between your fingers, grimacing. 

A bath _definitely_ sounded nice. 

“I took a short break from my thesis to catch dinner; everything else is finished, though,” you replied while shifting the weight of the fish. 

Satisfied, your mom nodded. “Very well, then. I’ll take the fish. Oh, and remember to float while coming in; I wouldn’t want any mud on the floor after I just cleaned it.” You nodded in understanding then handed the fish over to her and she turned to head back inside. “I’ll lay out some clean clothes right outside the bathroom door.” 

You wrung your hair as a thought occurred. _‘Mom’s been awfully preoccupied with cleaning ever since Gohan died…she must’ve been this way after Dad died, too.’_

You hovered in, floating up the stairs towards the bathroom. You shut the door behind you and turned the knob for the hot water to fill the tub while you began undressing. As you began unraveling the binds across your chest, an unknown sharp object pricked your finger. _‘Damn pine needle; these things are annoying.’_

You held the needle in between your thumb and forefinger and flicked the sharp annoyance into the nearby wastebasket, making a mental note to never meditate in trees again. 

Once the water filled the tub, you stepped in slowly to adjust to the temperature. Once acclimated, you took a deep breath before submerging under the water.

**//One Year Ago//**

“So…you’re giving up on becoming a Super Saiyan?” Trunks asked. “That doesn’t sound like you at all.”

You shook your head. “No, it’s not that,” you answered, hugging both knees to your chest. “I’m just hesitant to learn how to transform now, because every time someone with Saiyan blood transformed has stemmed from someone dying. First there was my father who transformed when Freeza killed Krillin right in front of him, then it happened to my brother during his fight with the androids.” You dipped your bare feet into the translucent lake and began to slowly swish them around as you thought the last part to yourself, _‘Then it happened to you after you found my brother...’_

Trunks lowered his head. “I understand where you’re coming from, but Gohan told me that first transformations are in response to a motivation you have to create.” 

You blinked. “He…never told me that. Even when I asked him why he wouldn’t teach me how to transform, he refused to tell me; maybe he just thought I wasn’t strong enough and it would be a waste of time. I still want to become a Super Saiyan, Trunks, but not through another casualty of those I care about.”

Slightly startled, you glanced down at your hand and saw Trunks’ fingers over yours. You and Trunks looked at one another, slightly blushing before the latter quickly retracted his hand. 

“S-sorry,” Trunks said softly, rubbing the back of his head with the opposite hand before looking the other way. “Well, I don’t think Gohan thought you were weak and I seriously doubt he thought you were wasting his time. As your brother, maybe he just wasn’t ready to teach you. But I think if there had been more time, he would’ve shown you how to transform.”

Hearing this brought a smile to your face. Not only was he trying to cheer you up, but it was another sign that he was comfortable around you. While your first kiss hadn’t been under the most romantic of circumstances and feared that it would shatter your friendship, it was moments like these that reassured you when you found the strength to forgive him, your kindness had not been in vain. The bond between you and Trunks was special as well as strong enough to weather any storm. 

“Thanks, Trunks,” you said then leaned in and rested your head against his right shoulder, avoiding the sword’s hilt angling behind his back. 

Trunks froze before blushing, but soon donned a smile of his own and allowed you to rest your head against him. “You’re welcome…”  
.   
You looked up and found yourself transfixed by his undeniably handsome face and the soft breeze blowing his soft lavender hair past his eyes as they continued to stare into the distance. Your eyes widened and felt heat spread to your face. _‘I did **not** think that just now.’_

Trunks looked at you and blinked. “Hmm? What’s wrong?”

You quickly rose to your feet and shook your head. “Uh, n-nothing! Nothing at all!” you replied, your voice slightly higher than intended. But right as you turned, unaware of your surroundings, you tripped and fell head-first into the lake. 

Trunks jumped to his feet and leaned over the edge of the dock. “___!” 

A few air bubbles later, you broke the surface and gasped for air. Hardly a second later, stifled snickering could be heard.

“You’ve got one sick sense of humor if you think me nearly drowning is funny!” You stood up to your full height before splashing at him. Trunks pursed his lips together and hovered off the dock just in time to avoid being splashed.

“No, that’s not it. There’s, um…you have a piece of kelp stuck in your hair.”

You gave him a dry glare and removed the slimy plant before holding your hand out. “It’s not _that_ funny. Whatever; just help me out already.”

As the lavender-haired teen managed to regain his composure, he hovered over the lake to take your hand.

But unbeknownst to him, you smirked and tighten your grip before swiftly pulling him in. You wore a triumphant Son-grin and rested both hands on your hips. “Serves you right!” 

Trunks surfaced and glared from behind his wet bangs, then splashed water at you. “Are you trying to start a fight or something!? I honestly thought that you were stuck!”

Rather than splashing back, a smirk grazed your lips as you waved your finger sideways. “Ladies do _not_ start fights,” you stated, calmly moving through water towards Trunks until your bodies were only an inch away from each other. Trunks inaudibly gulped, wondering what you were planning to do until you splashed him with a mass of water courteously of a wave of your ki. “But they can finish them!” **(1)**

To the eyes of nearby spectators the both of you probably looked like a couple of fools, splashing one another.

Luckily for you and your reputation, there weren't any.

= = = = = = =

“Are you done yet?” Trunks asked from one side of the giant boulder, his face shaded with a crimson blush.

“Just give me second,” you shot back irritably from the other side while rebinding your chest. 

Trunks sighed impatiently. “Then…could you just toss my clothes over?” 

You paused while trying to force a blush back, knowing this had to be embarrassing for him too. After regaining composure, as humanly possible in this situation, you hurried over to the pile of clothes lying over the rocks to dry and grabbed the garb belonging to him and rolled them up before quickly tossing them over to the other side of the boulder.

“You know, I can’t remember the last time we came by this lake and gotten into a water war,” you commented in attempt to change the subject, as you started to wring out your hair. Once finished tying your sash around your waist, you paused when no reply from Trunks came. “Trunks?” 

You waited a few moments for a reply but once again, nothing.

 _‘I hope he doesn’t get the wrong idea…’_ You took a deep breath for what you were about to do, but figured he had enough time to have gotten dressed.

“Hey, Trunks, how come you didn’t--” You paused, both in mid-sentence and in your tracks. 

Leaning against the rock with his arms folded over his chest, Trunks stared calmly at the clear sky. His pants were on but he remained shirtless, revealing a nice set of abs. You felt your face heating up. You cleared your throat and tentatively went over to join him but said nothing, not wishing to disturb the…‘scenery’ before you.

When Trunks finally noticed you standing there, a shade of crimson dusted his cheeks and he quickly turned to face the other way. Your gi top was still drying, leaving you in just your bindings and drawstring pants. 

“Um, Trunks, how come you were staring off into the sky?” you asked, trying to change the subject.

“No reason, really,” replied the demi-Saiyan. “It’s just that…I almost forgot what a clear sky looks like.” 

Your eyes inherited a forlorn look to them as you averted them to the ground. Since Trunks lived in the city, it only made sense he’d be exposed to more of the screams and a smoke-stained sky. Not once, as far as you could recall, had the androids attacked the woods, thus sparing you from years of the earlier dismay. 

Now, more than ever, you felt determined to find another reason for him to smile. You turned and embraced him from behind, resting your head against his back. You felt Trunks’ breathing hitch for a second.

“I know we may not be able to do much for those already gone but we owe it to everyone left not to give up. I may not be a Super Saiyan yet but that won’t stop me from trying. In the meantime, just know that we’re in this together,” you told him reassuringly. 

Trunks brought his hand up and rested it over yours, giving it a gentle squeeze just before he turned around and gently pulled you into a hug. “And you will be one too; you’re Goku’s daughter, after all.”

Surprised by his sudden forwardness, you stood there with your arms now at your sides, a bright blush across your face. It felt so comforting, so secure and natural to be in his arms right now. You turned your head so your ear now rested next to the soothing sound of his beating heart and felt a shiver travel down your spine and goose bumps rise from your arms, but it wasn’t from the cold. Then you stood on your toes and embraced him back.

**//Present//**

_‘Much better,’_ you thought, feeling refreshed after your bath while opening the bathroom door and tightening your sash around your waist in your gi **(2)**. 

The sound of water boiling and a paring knife chopping the fish on a wooden board led you to find Chichi in the kitchen.

“Would you mind setting the table for me, ___?” 

You shook your head and went over to the cupboard, took out two plates and a pair of kitchen utensils. 

After dinner and an inner groan from being told to finish your report, you excused yourself then began ascending upstairs to your room. However, just as you reached the doorknob, the sudden ringing from the phone downstairs gripped your attention. 

“Hello? Oh, hi, Bul-- He _what_?! Why would Trunks be trying to take them on by himself?! No…no, she’s still here at home.” 

Your eyes widened and your heart skipped a beat. 

“Tell Bulma I’m heading out right now to find him, Mom! Thanks!” you hollered as you bolted down the stairs to the front door, forgetting to close it from behind. By the time Chichi rushed outside the house, all she saw was your retreating form already in the sky.

Chichi continued to stare up at the sky with a worried expression. “Goku, Gohan… Please bring her back safely...” 

_“H-hello? Chichi?”_ came Bulma’s voice form the other line as the phone dangled upside down from its spiraled cord.

= = = = = = =

Following Trunks’ faint ki signal, you gained speed.

 _‘Why are you doing this, Trunks?!’_ you thought angrily. _‘You don’t think I want to avenge Gohan and the others, too?!’_ Knowing that stressing out would only cause you to exhaust the energy and focus needed to fly, you closed your eyes and took a deep breath. “Stay cool, ___. He’s out there—doing the most _asinine thing **imaginable**_ —but still out there, nonetheless.” 

Suddenly, Trunks’ ki signal disappeared and you halted abruptly. Your face paled as the memories of the same situation three years ago resurfaced. _‘No, not again! Don’t tell me I’m too late…!’_

Glancing down, you noticed something glinting from the ground. You dove down then took two hesitant steps forward before sinking to your knees. There, protruding out of the ground was Trunks’ sword, while its owner’s whereabouts remained unbeknownst.

You quickly shook your head from jumping to any more conclusions and forced yourself to your feet then rushed over towards the abandoned blade. Hands trembling, you gripped onto the hilt and after a few yanks you managed to pull it out. Blade side pointing skyward, you stared into the dusty surface of the weapon at your reflection. With no ki signal to follow at the moment, all you could do was look around to see if there were any hints. Nothing but ruined buildings and broken glass surrounded you.

“A sign or clue would be really useful about now,” you thought aloud, trying to conceal the blatant fear. _‘Trunks—where **are** you?!’_

Suddenly, a faint sound of a blast firing followed by water splashing gripped your attention. “I’ll take it!”

With the sword now in your possession, you took off while praying that you weren’t too late.

= = = = = = =

17 shot a blast out of his right index finger, knocking the wounded Trunks into a large swimming pool. 

18 smirked while watching from the sidelines. “You know, I’m almost disappointed with how easy that punk was to dispense of.” 

17 nodded in agreement. “But at least that’s the last time he’ll annoy us. Let’s go now, 18.” 

Right as the twins turned to leave, however, Trunks broke the surface and grabbed onto the ledge of the pool. Slowly, he began climbing out despite the immense protesting of his injuries. Seeing this made an annoyed, yet amused, 17 furrow his brows. 

“I’ll give him credit; he’s tougher than I thought.” 

17 launched another blast, more powerful than the last. This knocked the Super Saiyan across the pool, keeping him on his feet until it abated. With not enough strength to stand on his own afterwards, Trunks collapsed forward. 17 and 18 flew over to where Trunks lied and 17 slid his foot under the wounded demi-Saiyan’s chin and lifted it. 

“He’s dead,” 18 commented with satisfaction when Trunks had not moved. Just then, Trunks lifted his eyelids halfway. But given the state he was in, Trunks found it rather difficult to keep them open. 

“Why? I don’t get it…” Trunks rasped, wincing. “Tell me…why you two are doing this…!” 

“Dr. Gero created us for world domination,” 17 answered nonchalantly, “but that doesn’t really matter to us, not at all.” 

“Whenever we see humans, it angers us; we _hate_ you humans,” 18 replied coldly.

This caused blood to boil with rage and adrenaline, just barely enough to relinquish the hybrid prince from losing consciousness. “What—you _monsters_!!!” Trunks yelled, forcing himself to his feet. His hands were already one-step ahead, balling up into fists. Trunks began to throw punches onto 17’s face who hardly felt them. Same thing with 18, when Trunks turned and began throwing punches at her.

18 swiftly swiped her foot across the ground, thus causing the boy to trip, but she grabbed onto the collar of his jacket before he could hit the ground. “Whoops! You almost fell down,” she taunted. 

Too injured and weak to retaliate, Trunks was punched in the jaw, sending him crashing through a deserted house. 17 suddenly reappeared in front of Trunks and kicked him like a football, sending him back toward 18. The blond android sped up and connected her elbow with the demi-Saiyan’s spinal cord. 

Trunks could do nothing but grit his teeth from the pain while being mercilessly ganged up on by the ruthless twins. 18 soon sped up and knee-bashed Trunks in his abdomen then connected her fist to his jaw once more. The prince was slammed down onto the ground. As he lay there, his once golden hair returned to its usual lavender, his consciousness gradually deserting him.

= = = = = = 

You touched down on a nearby roof top then rushed to the ledge. Your eyes widened as you saw the sight of your best friend on the ground, unmoving. 17 and 18 emerged from the shadows provided by the buildings and slowly approached the lavender-haired male.

“Trunks! No!” you whispered, head bowed whilst strong emotions began stirring within, causing your frame to tremble. Your hair began to fan over your eyes and you gritted your teeth. As your ki flared, rubble and dust around you blew away. You tightly clenched the weapon’s hilt in your dominant hand and wiped the tears that began to brim your eyes with the other. 

Next, you held the sword up to your face and stared at your reflection. _‘I don’t want to lose anyone else!’_

You forced your ki to return to normal, not wanting to run the risk of having the roof crumble, then crouched down. From a couple of run-ins with 17 and 18 in the past, you had come to realization that neither of them possessed the ability to sense ki signals, nor did they have one. You watched on intently, waiting for an open opportunity to present itself. You weren’t about to allow your emotions cloud your focus, not if you wanted to save Trunks. Even if you didn’t defeat the androids, like **hell** you were going down without a fight!

“Would you look at that, he’s not even a natural blond,” 17 mocked, still unaware of your presence. 

“Oh a faker, eh?” 18 scoffed. “Everyone’s _always_ trying to copy me.” 

17 stomped the bottom of his shoe on top the Saiyan’s head then slowly twisted the bottom sideways. 

This was the end for Trunks, all because he wanted to prove his mom wrong by defeating the androids of this time without relying on the help from the deceased Z-fighters from the past. As a result, overconfidence and a bit of arrogance got the best of him and he’d have to reap what he had sown. Too bad… He wanted this to be the day to tell you what he had wanted to for a while now, but wanted the time to be right. 

But there wasn’t going to be a second chance.

Suddenly, the sound of a faint, but powerful ki blast whistled towards the three of them before impacting the ground. Both androids jumped back in time to spot a blurred outline swoop down and stand protectively in front of Trunks’ invalid form. Once the thick dust settled, 17 and 18 saw a girl, who stood with a blade in grasp, fury blazing in her eyes. 

“Don’t touch him,” you threatened in an even, yet biting tone. 

18 tilted her head before advancing a step closer. “Kids today: Showing up unceremoniously while demanding we stop mauling one of our favorite toys.” 

You pointed the blade up to her neck, causing 18 to stop in her tracks. “I **_said_** don’t touch him.” 

Sighing, 17 shook his head. “Then, by all means, go ahead and protect him. But if I were you, Sweetheart, I’d worry more about myself right now.” 

“I’m not leaving here without him!” You took on a fighter’s stance that allowed you to still point the blade at 17 and 18 while prepared to shield Trunks, if need be. 

“That is just _adorable_ ,” 17 replied in a patronizing tone then raised his hand. “Be gone!!!”

A bright ball formed from his palm but before he could unleash it, 18 intercepted by standing in between her twin and you. “Wait! Let _me_ deal with this one,” she insisted, raising both hands over her head. Within seconds, a warm glow emitted between her palms just before she unleashed it at you. 

You braced yourself and powered up, forming a ki barrier. 18 saw this but smirked and continued with her assault. Your feet began to slowly push back from the android putting out more energy. The ground began to give way, debris and dust particles flying and disintegrating upon coming in contact with the barrier. The blast soon destroyed nearby trees and reduced buildings to dust and rubble. 

You gritted your teeth as you struggled to maintain the barrier until your feet were pushed towards Trunks' unconscious form. You started to lose your balance and the barrier surrounding the both of you began to dissipate. The energy the android was releasing connected with your stomach, leaving a burning sensation and slamming you against the wall of a wrecked building. 

Every muscle in your body throbbed, followed by something solid colliding against you, knocking an ample amount of air out of your lungs and causing you to drop the sword, hitting the ground with a loud clank which was the last thing you heard before the painful cries of a familiar voice filled the air. Your eyes remained tightly shut as your body began to sink deeper into the wall. 

When the blast finally abated, the wall crumbled and you fell forward. Your eyes shot open and you quickly sat up. You inaudibly tried to gasp for air and clutched your stomach and leaned forward as you struggled to breathe again. Your head started to feel lighter while an aching discomfort in your lungs grew. You quickly pressed your back to the remains of the wall and repeatedly slammed yourself against it, despite the protests of your sore muscles, until you started coughing and inhaling air into your sore lungs. 

Once you didn’t feel dizzy, you looked around and froze as you saw a wounded Trunks lying on the ground. Blood flowed down his forehead and arms. It had been his body that was thrown against yours, shielding you from the worse of 18’s blast. 

“Trunks…!” You scrambled over to him and brushed a lavender strand out of his eyes before lifting his head, letting it rest against your chest. He looked so helpless and in a lot of pain. You moved one of your hands away and held it palm-faced up and found it was covered in blood—his blood. Tears began stinging your eyes as you lowered yourself, allowing your foreheads to touch as tears fell from your eyes and landed on his face. “Idiot! Did you forget we were supposed to find a way to stop them together?” 

“Aww… How touching,” 18 mocked as she floated towards the scene. 

You lifted your head and carefully laid Trunks down on top of the pile of rubble then grabbed the sword’s hilt to steady your balance. You stood and turned towards 18 and glared hard as you charged forward, raising Trunks’ sword over your head and swung it in one fluid motion. 18 instinctively tilted her head back, avoiding a direct hit. The two of you stood on opposite ends from each other and held your stances for a moment.

“We’ve been through this already: that won’t--” 18 paused in mid-sentence as six—no, seven, strains of her hair fell down to her feet. “You little **_bitch_**!” she yelled, tucking the now uneven ends behind her ear. “You’ll pay for that!” 

Before you managed to move out of the way 18 appeared in front of you and kicked your already-bruised stomach, sending you through the air. Despite the pain, you held onto the sword’s hilt tightly. Your eyes shut tightly against their will but they opened in time to see 18 in close pursuit. She sped up to punch you in the face, but you crossed both arms in front of your face to block it. 18 held her palm to your side and unleashed another blast. You squinted and grounded your teeth from the blistering sensation.

You were slammed against another solid wall and slowly slid to the ground. Your entire body wracked from all the pain. As you struggled to stand, the wave of pain assaulted you and you yelped before doubling over. Breathing heavily, you clutched your side and puked up a mouth-full of blood. 

“Awe, are you in pain?” 18 asked mockingly, calmly walking over towards you. You forced one eye open and looked up to see her towering over you just before she mercilessly kicked you in the stomach, causing you to fall onto your side and cry out in pain between coughs. 

18 quickly grew bored of beating you in the same spot and kicked you in the jaw, causing you to jerk upward and land harshly on your back. You were breathing heavier and lifted your eyelids, glaring up at 18 with unbridled disdain as you tried to suppress showing any sign of the immense pain your body was in. 

“So stubborn,” she sighed, both hands on her hips and slammed one foot down against your chest. 

Your eyes widened before they squinted as your head involuntarily jerked upward, and you released a blood-curdling scream. 18 slowly pressed her foot down with more pressure, causing you to scream louder. 18 stopped and removed her foot. You felt warm, thick liquid trickle from your mouth down to your neck. 18 then reached down and yanked you up by the scalp of your hair, causing you to whimper.

17 landed just behind you and grabbed an arm then slowly twisted it behind your back, followed by another grunt escaping your throat. 

“You won’t be needing this,” he said, jerking the sword out of your grasp and tossing it to the side. He leaned in and whispered into your ear, “You brought all of this on yourself, you know. It’s not like you would’ve made a difference.” 

You winced and cracked an eye open, trying to throw a backward glance but couldn’t turn due to 18’s vice grip on your scalp. “What’re you…talking about?!” 

“That punching bag back there; your _boyfriend_ was long gone by the time you arrived.” 

You felt your stomach drop. “No, you’re lying!” 

“I couldn’t care less whether or not you believe me,” he replied, tightening his hold around your arm, causing you to bite down on your lower lip to keep from screaming, though this caused blood to draw. “But if you need proof, I’d be willing to accommodate and send you to him.” His other hand stiffened as he pressed his fingers to your back in preparation to impale you through the chest.

“Back off, 17! This is still my fight!” 18 snapped. 

Your other eye snapped open while the two were still distracted at the moment. _‘Now’s my chance!’_

You quickly swung backward, tucking both legs to your chest and swiftly kicked 18. This caught her off guard and she released the hold on your hair and sent her hurdling into pile of rubble. But your victory would be short-lived unless you removed her counterpart. In one swift movement, you reached around and grabbed onto 17’s free arm and flipped him over your shoulder, slamming him into the ground.

17 quickly recovered from a look of surprise and tried to blast you, but you back-flipped to the opposite end from where 18 was. You wiped the blood off your lip with the back of your hand as you intently waited for any sudden movement from the androids. After spitting out some blood to the side, you took on a fighter’s stance. But you soon winced and held your side, noticing your breathing was still heavy. But you refused to let them see you like this and forced yourself to reassume your stance. “Your mind games won’t work on me! He’s still alive and we Saiyans aren’t so easy to kill!”

17 and 18 both emerged and took their fighter stances. 

“Really, now?” 17 asked. “If he’s still alive, don’t you think he’d be here helping you?”

“What a shame, he was really cute too,” 18 commented, tilting her head sideways. “At least the other Saiyans we fought could transform. What does that make you? A defective Saiyan?”

You clenched your fists tightly as those words struck a nerve. Your hair hid your eyes as your ki flared up, surrounding you and your head tilted skyward as your hair whipped violently over your head. You let out a yell then charged forward with rage, until closing the distance and spun-kicked at 18 but she jumped out of the way. 

17 took his fighter’s stance, as you turned around to face him and lunged forward with your fist out. He caught it. “Want me to break your other arm?” 

“Shut up!!!” you yelled and threw your other fist at him, which was caught as well. You forced your fingers between his and vice versa. The two of you yelled in attempt to push the other back with all your might. Sparks and pebbles rose from the ground just before it gave in, both you and the android sank in the crater. “First you guys killed my brother and then have the _nerve_ to try to take away the one dearest to me!” 

An amused smirk tilted the android’s lips. “So that boy really means that much to you, does he?” Without warning, he rammed his forehead against yours, causing you to lose your focus and cradle your forehead in your palms. Next, he roughly seized your throat and hauled you the rest of the way up until your feet dangled off the ground. “Fine, I’ll just have to destroy him once I finish you.” 

You reflexively grabbed onto his iced hands and dug your nails in, meeting his hard, soulless eyes. He was putting so much pressure on your neck you could almost feel the blood pooling beneath his fingers. You were beginning to feel light-headed from the lack of air, not to mention your body still hurt from the severe abuse from 18. With each passing second, your body felt weaker and losing all focus while being lured closer to your demise.

Then a thought entered your mind: Trunks. He was all alone, fighting for the will to survive. You _had_ to make it out of this too, you just had to! Even though both your families would be crushed if they lost either one of you, there was something about the very thought of Trunks mourning from losing you, or you losing him that was just…just…

Suddenly, a realization dawned on you, causing your heart to skip a beat. 

You held one hand to the android’s face. “No,” you rasped. “No you _won’t_!” 

17 barely had time to look confused at the sudden change in you before you focused your energy to form a bright ki ball. The blast was just enough to throw him back, tearing his bruising grip from your throat. He flew back and collided into a nearby wall. 

You sank down to the ground, too light-headed to stand. One hand tenderly rubbed your neck while the other pressed flatly on the ground to maintain your balance. You continued to gulp deep breaths of air, despite all protests from your sore neck. Everything seemed to swirl less. Then, out of nowhere, someone came vastly approaching from your left.

_‘Shit! I forgot about the other one!’_

You hurried to your feet and brought both arms up to your face just in time to block 18’s assault. It sent you skidding back a bit, but you stood firm on your footing. 18 drew her fist back and sent the other one at you, but you quickly ducked and swiped your foot across the ground. The android jumped and began to fly up. You bent your knees to blast up and follow after her. Due to your weakened state, you ki was draining fast. You didn’t want to think about what would happen if you exhausted yourself while being high up in the air.

“About time you showed up,” came a voice directly above you.

You looked up in time to see the same android dive down, feet-first, to kick you. As she drew nearer, you evaded and reappeared behind her then cupped both hands into a double fist, slamming them down on her head. You watched as 18 fell through the clouds at an alarming rate as you took a moment to catch your breath.

 _‘I know that wasn’t enough to subdue her, and I lost sight of 17. Don’t want to leave them with enough time to devise a plan.’_ You turned to look from one side to another while cradling your side. _‘But more importantly, I need to get Trunks to safety.’_

You clenched both fists at your side; white ki surrounded you as dove downward while keeping a keen eye out for the androids. Just to your left, you spotted a silhouette behind the clouds. Rather than wasting your energy to blast at it, you slowed down and floated cautiously towards the cloud. 

Suddenly, 17 lunged out and punched your eye socket. Along with the pain, you felt the wind whipping mercilessly at your wounds as you fell. Due to the state you were in, it took more ki than usual to catch yourself.

“Bastard!” you growled under your breath, clenching one fist as the other over the throbbing socket. 17 said nothing but watched with his arms folding over his chest, watching to see what you’d do.

From below, 18 dove back up and joined 17 as they both held out an index finger. But it wasn’t at you. You gasped when realizing what they were planning to do: destroy the ground, along with the remains of everything and _everyone_ there.

“No!!!” you yelled before charging forward and shoulder-rammed both 18 and 17. The three of you locked into fierce punching and kicking. They held the upper hand at the moment and steadily sent you back; it was rather difficult to see both of them with only one eye working.

18 suddenly grabbed your wrist and threw you over like you had done with 17 earlier, sending you plummeting down. Both androids glanced at one another and held out their palms downward. 

As you fell, you lifted your eyelids in time to see a hail of blasts showering down and knew you only had one way out of this. There hadn’t been enough time to perfect this technique and there was no guarantee it would even work but unless you acted, this was the end. You situated yourself onto your side and pressed the heels of your palms together. You closed your eye and opened it again as the sound of whistling drew nearer. 

“KA..ME..HA..ME…..HAAA!!!” 

A blue blast released from your palms and collided with the combined blast from the androids. You winced from the strain the mass of ki you were using, and could tell neither was giving in an inch. You yelled, releasing more ki to keep the adjoined blast from the androids further away from you. 

Your feet had finally touched the ground; now you could carry out your plan. Your dominant hand continued to unleash your ki while the other lowered to the ground and unleashed a blast at it to send you flying backwards in order to reach Trunks quicker instead of flying towards him. 

When 17 and 18 didn’t see any beams coming from your end, they decided to go down and see if you were finished.

You recovered the sword and finally reached Trunks, ignoring the pain and sluggish feeling from exhausting a lot of ki in one setting as you knelt down to pick him up. You grabbed one of his arms and slung it over your shoulder. Trunks grunted but remained unconscious. You looked down at him and would’ve smiled, relieved to know he was still alive, but you had to find refuge before the androids found you.

“I don’t see her, 17. How about you?” asked 18, descending towards the earth. 

You threw a backwards glance to see that she and 17 weren’t that far. Cursing, you quickly hid behind a wrecked, but sturdy wall. Exhausted and out of breath, you pressed your back against the solid wall and slid down then wrapped your arms around Trunks, cradling his body close to yours. 

_‘Please don’t let them find us,’_ you prayed to yourself. _‘I don’t have enough strength to take them on.’_

Once a blast blew up a building and the ground rumbled, you breathed in a startled breath then tightly shut your eyes. Your frame trembled and you buried your face into Trunks’ soft hair. 

As moments slowly ticked by, the blasting stopped and silence ensued.

You tentatively peeked out and looked around. They were gone…for now. You glanced back down at Trunks and hugged him again before you lifted him up, wincing from the pain and staggering from his weight, but still managed. 

“Our moms must be worried sick about us by now,” you said then glanced down at Trunks, even though he wasn’t conscious to hear you at the moment. “ _I_ was worried about you.” 

While being careful, you hovered off the ground and flew over to West City, back towards Capsule Corp.

\- - - - - - - - -  
 ** _End of Ch. 15_**  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **(1)** Stole that line from _The Aristocats_.
> 
>  **(2)** Chichi has reluctantly allowed for your training to continue after all (if you can believe that).


	16. Hope

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So here's the final installment of **_For our Futures_**! It's sequel, _**Altering the Past**_ , should be posted soon. I already have a few of those chapters written out so it's just a matter of touching them up. I'll reply to my most recent reviews I've gotten in just a few. In the meantime, I'd like to take a moment to thank the following awesome and lovely reviewers: 
> 
> **A Dedicated Reader  
>  AstroBoy103   
> Cat   
> CreepyBear   
> I_am_a_smart_cookie  
> MetalCoffinEmpress  
> The_Rogue_Sylph  
> wrenowitch   
> xXMistyFurXx**

  
**_Chapter 16  
Hope_**  
\- - - - - - - -

Bulma stared out the window, watching for any signs of her son or you. She tried her best to sustain a calm facade but as the hour droned on, all hope began to look grim.

Suddenly, a familiar ivory spark of ki flickered in the distance. This caused the blue-haired woman to inhale a sharp breath while standing abruptly from her seat. 

“They’re back!” she exclaimed, rushing towards the front door and flinging it open just in time to see you collapse to your knees with Trunks’ arm slung over your shoulder. 

Your breathing was heavy, fatigue coursing through every fiber of your being. Regardless of your current state, you looked up at Bulma through one eye and managed a tired smile just before everything around you blurred. Having overexerted yourself, you collapsed sideways after losing your grip on Trunks’ wrist and falling on one before his other draped over your side.

= = = = = = = 

The faint sound of water wringing into a bowl filled with water was the first thing your mind registered before a cool, damp cloth was placed over your forehead. You stirred, preparing your eyelids to lazily lift. A bright, white ceiling was the first thing you saw but after you blinked, you noticed something was off: only one of your eyes could see. Shocked by this new discovery, you brought your hands up to your eyes to rub them only to recoil in pain.

“Careful, you have a nasty bruise.” 

Slightly startled, you lowered your hands then turned to the sound of a familiar voice, looking around and saw Bulma standing over you, smiling. “Welcome back.”

You blinked a few times then stared back up at the ceiling. “Wh-where am I?” 

You noticed your voice was weak and a bit horse, suggesting you had been unconscious for at least a day or two. 

“Capsule Corp. Do you remember flying here?” 

Before you had time to give an answer—or try to recollect—panicked footsteps hastily came to your side. 

“Oh thank goodness you’re awake!” cried Chichi, embracing you tightly. “I was so worried!” 

Not long after that the washcloth peeled off and fell onto the floor beside the bed.

“Ouch!” 

Chichi quickly pulled back but continued to gently hold you up by the shoulders. “Oh, I’m so sorry.” 

She saw you holding your side while offering her a wan smile. “It’s okay, Mom. I don’t think there’s any permanent damage.”

Chichi adjusted the pillows and helped you back against them. “Here, keep this pressed against your black eye and drink this,” she instructed while handing you a cup of water. You put your lips to the straw and took a swig of the cool, refreshing liquid that traveled down your throat. 

Bulma got up and headed towards the door. “Well, I’ll be in the next room. So just holler if you need anything.” 

Before she exited the room you gasped and leaned forward, regretting your actions when a wave of pain gnawed at your muscles. Chichi quickly, yet carefully, grabbed your shoulders before you fell completely forward and helped you to sit back up. 

“Wait! Tell me, is Trunks…?” 

Bulma smiled as she turned to fully face you. “He’s going to be alright; I have you to thank for that.” That said she walked out, closing the door behind her.

You released a breath you were unaware of holding then turned your head to the side, looking quizzically at your mom as she started rummaging for something in her purse. “Mom? Hey, I’m sorry about taking off like that but I had to, to save Trunks.”

“And I’m glad to hear that he’s safe,” she replied, pulling out a roll of duck tape, another roll of gauze bandages, and a jar containing thick, tanned-color ointment **(1)**. She laid the three items on the nightstand and pulled up a chair. “But right now, let’s focus on taking care of you.” 

Eyes widening, you gulped and pointed to the jar. “I-is that really necessary?” 

She nodded. “This will heal your wounds quickly.”

_‘Yeah, along with the side-effect of feeling like a bee sting…’_

You hung your head in defeat. With your mother’s mind made up, there was no way around it. Chichi helped you lay down on your back and had you roll up your shirt so she could tend to the blistered wound where 18’s blast struck. 

“Hey, Mom?” you began, hissing from the searing pain once a dab of the ointment was applied onto your skin. You turned your head in the opposite direction, clutching the bed sheets under your fingers as you fought to keep from swearing while in your mother’s presence. Chichi curtly nodded before continuing to apply the medicine on. “I’ve been thinking, about Bulma’s time machine that Trunks will be using to travel back in...” You squinted your eyes and pursed your lips. “Once I’m better, I’d like to go too,” you finished hurriedly.

Much to your relief, Chichi had just finished tending to your side wound and bandaging it. You pulled your shirt back down then turned to face her, waiting for a response. However, upon seeing her frown was enough to sum up the answer would be. 

“Absolutely _not_! Although I’ve agreed to let you resume your training, I cannot allow you to risk your life on something that we don’t even know will work! You just barely made it back here in one piece, why do you want to place yourself in more danger?!”

You turned your head and stared pensively out the window at the ruined city. “Thing is, I don’t think any place will be safe for long while the androids are out there. If I travel back to the past with Trunks, we may be able to uncover some kind of clue on how to stop them.” 

“How did you even find out about Bulma making a time machine?”

You turned your head back to your mom, feeling slightly relieved that she didn’t sound as angry as before. “Trunks told me about it, though I can’t remember exactly when. I know the idea may seem a little far-fetched, but I believe it’s better than not taking any kind of action and continuing to live in fear. Please, Mom?”

Chichi closed her eyes briefly then opened them. “If you’ll promise to be careful and take full advantage of recovering in the mean time, I’ll consider it.”

Despite the bruises, you managed a Son-grin. “I will. Thanks, Mom.”

= = = = = = =

You bolted upright in the middle of the night in a cold sweat. Your eyes widened as they glanced around the room then down and unclenching the sheets from your tight grip.

_‘It was just a nightmare, but it seemed so real…’_

Holding your hand to your forehead warily, you glanced to the side and saw Chichi still sound asleep in the spare cot Bulma had pulled out for her. Breathing returning to normal, you wiped the sweat from your brow before holding your still trembling hands in front of you. _‘I just have to see for myself.’_

After crawling out of bed and staggering the first couple of steps from not using your legs for a couple of days, you eventually managed to regain your balance. You hesitantly looked towards your mom and saw that she was still fast asleep; you released a breath you were unaware of holding then quietly limped towards the door. The knob rattled due to your still trembling hand. You gulped as you slowly turned the knob while periodically glancing over your shoulder, hoping the sound wouldn’t wake your mom. 

Successful, you quietly exited the room, closing the door behind you, but leaving it open by a crack. Leaning against the wall, your eyes began scanning the dark hallways as you briskly rubbed your arms.

You noticed the room diagonal to yours had its door open by a crack, so you decided to check there first. You sharply inhaled before moving towards it. Gently, you pushed the door open leaving just enough room for you to peek through. A bed against the other end of the room could be seen along with a figure occupying it. There was Trunks, sleeping soundly.

You breathed a sigh of relief, and before you knew what you were doing, you moved towards the bed. For a moment, you watched the demi-Saiyan’s chest rise and fall in a steady rhythm. He seemed completely unharmed, save for the gauzed bandage around his forehead and one on his left cheek. 

“I’m glad your injuries don’t appear to be anything life-threatening, Trunks,” you whispered, reaching for one of his hands, being careful to not mess up the IV, and lightly squeezing it between your own. “You looked pretty banged up after 18’s blast knocked the both of us into that building. Still, just now I had a horrible dream that you were already dead and lying in an unmarked ditch along with other corpses. Trunks, I don’t know what made you decide to take on 17 and 18 single-handedly, but…” you sighed shakily, “I was so frightened, seeing you lie there so still, appearing lifeless. You and Mom are all I have left now; without you…there’d be no reason left for me to keep fighting.” 

You tensed slightly and looked up, feeling Trunks' warm, calloused hand lightly grip yours as his head tilted to the side and his eyelids stirred. But he remained out, leaving nothing but the sound of him breathing evenly and the warmth of his hand offering comfort. You sat up and found yourself observing his features. Over the years, you’d gotten use to seeing him trying to hide the pain from having to tell a stranger, namely a child, that their family was killed, and frustrated for not being able to save more people. It was different to see him looking rather calm, peaceful almost. Even with all those bandages he was still quite attractive… 

“Can I help you?”

You shot a glance to the door entry and saw Bulma standing in the doorway. 

“Oh, uh...” You glanced down and quickly released Trunks’ hand. Bulma simply chuckled before she pulled up a seat, handing you a cup of hot cocoa. You stared at your reflection off the drink, trying to think of something to say to ease the uneasy atmosphere. “F-forgive me for intruding; I know I shouldn’t have, but I just had to see for myself that he was okay.”

Much to your relief, a hand rested on your shoulder, calming you. Looking up and turning your head, you saw Bulma offer an understanding smile. “I do understand, ___. You risked your life to save his, so it only makes sense you would want to know he’s safe.” Bulma rested her other hand on your other shoulder then added, “It would also seem the message your dream was telling you there’s more to it.”

Your heart skipped a beat and it was then you secretly hoped the heat ornamenting your face was due to the hot chocolate. “M-my dream?” 

Oh, Kami…she must’ve heard you just a moment ago. 

“In other words, your dream just now was telling you to share with Trunks how you really feel about him as opposed to waiting too long until it’s too late.”

You gulped, absently fidgeting the cup in your hands while searching in vain for a counter-claim but had nothing.

She simply smiled, most likely to ease your worries that she might be upset that you had developed feelings for her son. “There’s nothing to be embarrassed about. I’m sure Trunks already knows you care for him but that shouldn’t stop you from telling him how you really feel. Whether he feels the same way or not, I cannot say, but at the very least you’ll have your answer.”

She was right. All that was left to do now was ask her and hope this wasn’t a tall order, even for her.

“Well, I was actually hoping as soon as Trunks and I have recovered, I could go to the past with him and help out.”

Bulma leaned back in her chair, folding her arms over her chest. After a few moments she looked at her son then back to you who awaited an answer. “Hmm… Let’s see, I know there’s an extra seat lying around somewhere that I’m sure would fit if I installed it.” You felt your heart race as you leaned forward slightly. “I’d still have to speak with your mom about it, of course.” She glanced up at the clock above on the opposite side of the wall. “It’s awfully late, and it’s not a good idea to stay up while you’re injured.” 

You nodded and rose from your seat and headed towards the door, but stopped and turned your head over your shoulder due to hearing Bulma call your name one last time.

“My advice would be to tell him before the trip, otherwise the longer you wait the more difficult it’ll become.”

You swallowed and nodded. “But how will I know when he’s about to leave?”

Bulma put her hand to her chest in a confident manner. “You just leave that to me.”

You nodded and moved back to the room you were staying in, having no doubt in your mind that Bulma knew what she was doing. It was up to you to find a way to tell Trunks while you mentally prepared yourself for the worst-case scenario. This was by far your toughest battle yet. Even if his feelings weren’t mutual, you quietly wished that your friendship with him would not suffer the same fate as the crumbling world around you. 

Trying not to ponder too much on the possibilities, you crawled back into bed and put the mug on the nightstand beside you before pulling the covers up and lying down, then fell into a dreamless sleep.

= = = = = = =

The following morning, Chichi, after giving her thanks to Bulma, headed towards the car. Just before you turned to make your way to the car, Bulma gave a quick wink and nodded curtly. Son-grinning, you mouthed a _“Thank you”_ to her and jumped into the passenger seat.

The ride home was quiet. You rested your head against the car seat, tiredly watching blurred outlines of buildings and wires from telephone poles which seemed to dip briefly as Chichi drove passed them. You fought the urge of nodding off to sleep, until Chichi seemed to notice this. “It’s alright if you wish to take a nap, ___. I doubt the androids will come out this early.”

You turned your head over in her direction and saw her curtly nod over to you, while keeping her eyes on the eerie, deserted road. You nodded back and started telling her not to hesitate to wake you in case 17 and 18 did appear, but drifted off to sleep before you could finish.

= = = = = = =

After recovering from his injuries, Trunks had agreed to use the time machine to travel back in time to warn Goku. Although there was no longer a lab to test it—thanks to the androids—Bulma was still confident her son would successfully manage traveling back two decades and return to the present. However, before leaving, there was one last thing the demi-Saiyan needed to take care of.

“There’s still time before the trip, Trunks. Why not stop by and see how she’s doing?” Bulma suggested one morning at the kitchen table. She hadn’t mentioned anything to Trunks about adding an additional seat, thus she’d have to get him out of the house for a few hours.

The seventeen-year-old glanced up from his mug of coffee, then back down at his reflection in the dark-colored beverage. “It’s not that I don’t want to see her, but what about Freeza? You told me he was going to arrive to Earth in the past.” 

Bulma nodded. “Oh, he is; but that won’t occur until…”—she paused while holding her mug up looking thoughtful—“tomorrow. Unless, of course, you plan on taking the time machine now and wait for an extra day in the middle of nowhere.”

Trunks chuckled and shook his head. “No.”

“Alright then, it’s settled. There's not much to check on the machine anyway, so don’t worry about the rest. Plus, I think ___ would want to hear all about the trip before and after you get back.” 

Trunks chuckled before pushing his seat out and donned on his blue denim jacket. “You’re right, she would. I’ll see you later,” he said, waving over his shoulder as he walked out the front door before ascending into the air.

Once her son disappeared from view, Bulma rose from her seat and reached for her toolbox and the extra seat then set to work.

= = = = = = =

Chichi suddenly looked up, a little startled from the sound of nearby trees rustling from the change of wind. She rose from her chair and cautiously moved towards the door. After hearing a hand softly knock against the other side, she looked through window to see Trunks standing outside. Relieved, she opened the door. “Oh hi, Trunks. What brings you out here?”

Trunks bowed. “Hello. I came here to speak with ___. Do you know if she’s home?” 

Chichi nodded then stepped to the side, allowing the demi-Saiyan to enter. “Last I heard from her, she was headed towards her room. Would you mind waiting here while I go get her?”

Not in any hurry to head home and wanting to see if you were all right after hearing how you rushed in to save him from the androids, Trunks smiled and shook his head and Chichi headed up the stairs.

= = = = = = =

As soon as there were sounds of footsteps descending the stairs, Trunks looked up from looking at some of the framed pictures placed over the fireplace mantle and saw Chichi coming down the stairs, with you following shortly after.

“Mom, who is it?” you asked, rubbing your eyes tiredly. Trunks smiled at how cute you looked half-awake.

But when no reply was heard, you opened your eyes after rubbing the sleep out, looked down the stairway and froze in place. 

Trunks stood at the bottom of the stairs and offered a soft smile before mouthing, _“Hey”_.

Eyes widening, you took a few steps forward then hurried down the rest of the way until you reached Trunks and wrapped both arms around his neck. “I’m so glad you’re okay!” 

Trunks felt heat radiating off his face and looked down at the top of your head then at Chichi, the latter nodded and headed back up the stairs. 

Trunks then looked down at you, his expression softening as he returned the embrace. “I’m sorry... Not only was I not strong enough to take them on, but also placed you in danger.” He slowly pulled back then his eyes widened when he noticed something he hadn’t at first: light, blue bruises resembling fingers clashed against the flesh on your neck. You winced when one of his fingers ghosted against one of the bruises. Trunks quickly retracted his hand, his eyes quickly changing from concern to guilt. “It’s all my fault; you didn’t deserve this.”

You shook your head then rested your palm on his cheek. “Don’t blame yourself, Trunks. You can’t be a fighter and not expect a few bruises or broken bones. The fact that we both survived and made it out of there is what matters to me.” 

Trunks looked at you as he managed a small smile before averting his eyes. “You’re so strong, ___. Don’t ever lose that.”

“Trunks? What is it?” you asked, concern when sensing something was bothering him. You tilted your head to meet his eyes. “Hey, what’s wrong? You can tell me.” 

Trunks finally faced you. “There’s something I need to tell you.”

Sensing that it was something important from the seriousness in his voice, you nodded and started to lead him into the living room. But Trunks lightly tugged on your arm, stopping you. You whirled around and saw him nod towards the front door.

= = = = = = =

Sitting at the dock, you waited for Trunks to tell you whatever was on his mind. “I know it was a awhile ago, but do you recall me mentioning to you that my mom’s been working on a time machine?”

You nodded and he continued. 

“Well, it’s finished. First thing tomorrow morning I’m to use it to travel back twenty years to warn Goku about the androids. The problem is…since the androids destroyed the lab there’s no way to test the machine, so there’s no telling how things may go.”

You averted your gaze to the wooden plank underneath while your heart began to beat faster. It was either now or never. _‘For the love of Kami, ___, don’t screw this up.’_ You took a deep breath as you looked back up at Trunks, resting your hand on his arm. “Yeah, about that; there’s something that I have to tell you too, Trunks. The time machine is now equipped to fit two people, so I’ll be going with you.”

Trunks’ eyes widened in shock. But how—oh… Leave it to his genius mother to discreetly make those adjustments—and at the last minute. “This…this was my mom’s idea, wasn’t it?” 

You shook your head while having to suppress a giggle. “Actually, I was the one who suggested it and she agreed.” 

Trunks looked like he was about to argue against the idea, but before he could speak, you calmly placed a finger over his lips. 

“Before you say anything please hear me out, Trunks,” you requested then removed your finger, knowing he wouldn’t interrupt. “Both your mom and mine have already talked about this and are okay with it. Since time-traveling has never been done before, it may be a good idea to send more than one person in case one of us comes across something important that the other person missed. I’d also like to be able to see my brother again and this may be the only chance I’ll ever get to meet my dad,” you explained, your eyes now staring off into the distance. “Who knows, maybe you’ll see your dad too.” 

“___…I understand you want to see your brother again. Believe me, I miss him too. It’s just that this time machine is the first of its kind and if something were to happen to you as a result, I could never forgive myself. Even if you went and saw everybody, you couldn’t tell them who you are. If anything happens to me while in the past, then at least I’ll know you’ll still be here to keep the people of the future safe.” He then placed a hand on your shoulder. “I appreciate your willingness to help out, ___, but let me do this on my own.” You blinked then shook your head. 

“No. I’m sorry, but I can’t do what you’re asking of me; not this time,” you replied, your voice now on the verge on quivering. “I understand you don’t want me to get hurt, Trunks. I also understand there are risks involved and that’s all the more reason to stay together,” you closed your eyes and took a deep breath in an effort to calm the butterflies attacking inside of your stomach. “When I found you lying on the ground after 17 and 18 had beaten you up, I feared that you were dead and the androids tried to convince me that you were,” you reached up and hovered your fingers over your bruised neck, “then when 17 had me in his grasp, I thought for sure that was going to be my end. It wasn’t until that moment I fully realized giving up would mean leaving _you_ alone and I would never want to put you through such a cruel fate. The truth is, Trunks…you’ve become someone very special to me. So please don’t leave me behind, I cannot handle the thought of something happening to you and having no way of knowing.”

Silence ensued as Trunks sat still, his eyes widened but he appeared too stunned to speak. Your face heated while your hands continued trembling when no reply came. Nervousness evolved into regret before it felt as though a dagger had pierced your heart and slowly severing it into several tiny pieces. 

You averted your gaze to the ground, nodding slightly as you smiled wanly. “I’m sorry, Trunks. I know you have a lot on your plate right now; that was selfish of me.” You quickly, yet quietly rose to your feet, avoiding eye-contact with the man you just confessed your feelings to. Before you could take off, a hand rested on your shoulder, stopping you. You tensed briefly then tightly shut your eyes as a horrible pang in your heart swelled. Without turning around, you reached around and placed a hand over Trunks’ to lift it off. “It’s okay, you don’t have to explain or apologize.” You felt Trunks place his other hand on your other shoulder before being slowly turned you to face him. Your head remained lowered, becoming frustrated that he hadn’t seem to catch on you wanted to be left alone at the moment.

Trunks’ hands slid down your arms and firmly grasped your hands with his. You hesitantly lifted your head and saw the demi-Saiyan staring back at you. “Is that true?” he asked, the crimson blush across his cheeks darkening. “Everything you just said?”

You lowered your head once more, fighting with all your strength not to break down on the spot. “Please, just…forget what I said about—” 

Before you could finish, you felt something clasping your chin gently and lifted your head up, leaving you with no other choice but to stare into the calming blue eyes you suddenly found difficult to look into. “I still haven’t given my reply yet,” he told you softly.

Your eyes widened and before you had time to digest what he said, Trunks cupped your cheek and tentatively leaned in. The last thing your mind registered was his warm breath caressing your lips before lightly pressing against them with his own. 

You blinked in surprise. Your mind failed to stop whirling as velvet-soft lips brushed against yours. Gradually, you relaxed and began melting into the kiss. Your eyes fluttered shut and hesitantly rested both hands on his shoulders before wrapping your arms around his neck, the blush from your face fading as you began brushing your lips against his. 

Trunks carefully wound one arm around your waist and pulled you closer whilst his other hand slowly moved from your cheek and started threading his fingers through your hair. An inaudible gasp came from you when something moist lightly licked your lower lip. Trunks slowly pulled back, his arm still around your waist. 

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you,” he whispered. “I won’t do that again.” 

You slowly ran your fingertips over your slightly parted lips before licking your lips while still in a trance-like state of pure bliss before returning to your senses and shook your head as you looked up at Trunks. “No, it’s fine; I was just a little surprised. S-so, does this mean we’re…?” 

Trunks smiled softly and rested his forehead against yours, a pink blush ornamenting his cheeks. “Yeah, we are. I’m so sorry for not replying right away.”

“What was preventing you?”

Trunks lifted his head a bit and held onto you a bit tighter, allowing your head to rest against his chest while he resumed threading the five digits through your hair. “Well, to tell you the truth, I’ve had feelings for you for a while now and I thought I’d be the first to say it. So imagine my surprise to hear you saying you feel the same way about me,” he replied. “But I didn’t mean to have you misinterpret the silence as a rejection. Forgive me?” 

Hearing that from him soothed the wound in your heart. You lifted your head and extended your index finger. “On one condition: that you’ll let me come with you to the past,” you started absently playing with the denim fabric of his long sleeve. “I realize how important this mission is to you and your mom, so I promise not to do anything to jeopardize it.”

Trunks smiled and continued threading your hair as he leaned in and captured your lips once more and made a series of small kisses before pausing briefly to reply, “Okay.” 

Smiling into the kisses, you wrapped your arms around his neck again and responded to the kisses, slowly prolonging them. A shiver traveled down your spine as one of his hands slowly traveled up and down your back. Trunks eventually worked up the courage to lick your lower lip once more. You weren’t as startled as before and opened your mouth, granting access to its ‘guest’. Trunks’ tongue slipped into your mouth, gracing your tongue whilst you slowly worked up the confidence before touching the tip of the man’s tongue with yours before the two appendages commenced in a battle for dominance, but in the end the demi-Saiyan Prince couldn’t be dethroned.

The two of you slowly pulled back and you rested your head against Trunks’ chest. You waited for the dizziness to subside as your neglected lungs continued filling themselves with precious oxygen while you could feel the demi-Saiyan’s chest inhale, his lungs trying to take in some air as well. 

You slowly lifted your head and saw the handsome demi-Saiyan’s blue eyes staring back at you, smiling. 

The two of you suddenly looked up to see the sun descending, leaving a vermilion hue in the sky: the first sunset you’d witnessed with your new boyfriend. You stared in awe as the gigantic orb of fire slowly continued its path down the horizon, knowing that as long as you continued to train and not give in to the despair of the androids, the world would see more sunsets. 17 and 18 would never possess the strength to destroy the sun, no matter how strong they were; you had found that thought comforting.

The two of you stood in place, enjoying the other’s company for a while longer. When it started to get dark, Trunks glanced at his watch. “We should probably start heading back; I’ll fly you home so your mom doesn’t worry.” 

You nodded. “Sure.” 

Trunks slowly pulled back and offered his hand. You took it, intertwining your fingers with his before both of you hovered up into the sky.

= = = = = =

The two of you floated down to the front porch of your house. Trunks glanced over to one of the windows, seeming hesitant. You repeated his actions then shook your head and wrapped your arms around his neck. “I don’t think my mom will mind that we’re going out, plus she’s known you ever since you were a baby.”

Trunks nodded then wrapped his arms around your waist before leaning in and capturing your lips with his. “Well then, goodnight. I’ll see you in the morning.”

You smirked. “And don’t even _think_ about taking off in the time machine without me.” You then playfully flicked one of the lavender strands hanging over his eyes.

Trunks chuckled. “I promise.”

You quickly squeezed his hands before they slowly slipped from yours. You watched as the demi-Saiyan smiled one last time before taking to the air, eventually vanishing from view. You leaned against the door for a moment and sighed in contentment. You then opened the door and hurried up the stairs and towards your room, giggling like a little girl as you opened the door and leapt onto your bed and buried your face in your pillow. Soon you found yourself trying not to let the anxiousness of the tomorrow’s trip as well as the euphoric high you were currently feeling prevent you from sleep.

= = = = = =

“___!” Chichi called from the bottom of the stairs. “I just got off the phone with Bulma; she says there’s a few things to go over with you and Trunks before the two of you leave!”

“Okay, I’ll be right down!” you called back, balancing one hand on your dresser while slipping on one of your combat boots to match your new outfit **(2)**.

Next, you glanced in the mirror to make sure the make up your mom helped you apply on still concealed the bruises. The last thing you’d want was to draw unwanted attention to yourself. Lastly, you opened the top drawer and opened up a small box with your brother’s blue wrist pad in it. You took it out and tied it around your own then finally rushed down the stairs. “I’m ready!”

= = = = = =

By the time the two of you arrived, Trunks was already waiting. He leaned against a giant yellow machine, which you guessed would be the transportation to take the both of you to the past.

“So this is it, huh?” you asked rhetorically while slowly walking up to it. With a glimpse to the side, you saw a four-letter word painted in black. “‘Hope’…” you read aloud.

“What is it?” Trunks asked while coming up from behind you, wrapping his arms around your waist. You turned around and smiled.

“I’ll tell you later,” you replied then glanced to the side and saw Bulma gesturing for the two of you to come over. 

“Don’t worry,” Trunks assured you. “I’ve already told her about us; she seemed happy.”

You nodded. “That’s good. Come on, let’s go and see what she wants.”

After explaining the purpose of giving Goku the antidote to prevent the heart virus and the premonition of the androids, both you and Trunks stood in front of the machine.

“I guess this is the antidote for Goku?” inquired Trunks, staring at the tiny vile his mom handed him.

“Yeah; do me a favor and don’t drop it,” Bulma replied jokingly. Trunks nodded then placed it in his upper-right pocket. 

“You two be careful, now,” Bulma said, smiling as she gave her son a goodbye hug while Chichi did the same with you. “We’re counting on you.” 

Trunks hovered off the ground and after exchanging a goodbye hug with Bulma, you followed suit. As promised, Bulma had installed the additional seat for you. It connected to the back of Trunks’ seat; you couldn’t help but grin.

“You ready to see Gohan and everyone?” asked Trunks as he extended his hand out. You nodded then reached around and firmly grasped his hand with yours. The capsule canopy descended and you took a deep breath. Both of you looked out the canopy as the machine steadily lifted into the air. You and Trunks used this time to wave to the elder women, who looked like the size of ants now.

“We’ll be back soon!” you and Trunks shouted together before a white flash basked the two of you and the time machine, sending the both of you off to era where the androids hadn’t spawned yet.

Chichi stared up at the sky, her fingers laced in her hands, hoping for the safety of her only daughter. “Do you believe this’ll work?” 

“I believe it will. We’ve done all that we can; it’s now up to those two,” the blue-haired woman replied, smiling while staring up at the immaculate, azure sky. “They’re in your hands now, Goku.”

\- - - - - - - -  
 ** _To Be Continued._**  


**_Thank You for Reading!!!_ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **(1)** It’s that same remedy Gohan used for his arm and the wounded Dinosaur.
> 
> **(2)** Here’s basically what your outfit looks like, replacing the mini skirt and stockings with cargo pants and combat boots: http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa300/XxRougexX/CatPen.jpg


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